New World
by Maria-smith7
Summary: Takes place one year after the events of dirge of Cerberus. The WRO request the help of the old gang to destroy the last remaining reactors left on the planet; with some help from the Turks along the way. However, as soon as they embark on the mission a series of strange events occur suggesting there are people out there who want to prevent them from completing their mission.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue **

The sun was just setting over the healing lodge when Reeve arrived. This was his first time visiting since the fall of Shinra Inc and he was surprised at how much it has changed. Originally it was meant to be a resort for Shinra employees on holidays or on stress leave but after meteor Rufus turned it into a healing center for those infected with geo stigma. Once the geo stigma was cured, a little over two years ago, many of the infected people left the healing center to rebuild their lives while others stayed making it their new home.

Over time the lodge had grown into a small self-sufficient and vibrant town called Healen built around the original Shinra cliff resort. Since the resort was located on a ledge along the side of a cliff many of the homes were also located along the cliff-side and were interconnected by various bridges, ramps and staircases. The town even used the waterfall for hydro-electrical power so it did not have to rely heavily on outside electricity. Being a former urban developer, Reeve was very impressed with the small town and wondered how many engineers Rufus had hired to assist with its construction.

But the Healen hospital was the pride of the town and was considered the best hospital on the planet. It was a massive five story hospital built into the side of the cliff equipped with the latest equipment and first-class service. It even had its own helicopter to transport critically ill patients. It was known for providing free treatment to anyone in need and housed some of the best doctors around. Reeve supported Rufus' idea of affordable healthcare and ensured that any medical student attending the college in Junon would be required to complete part of their internship at the Healen Hospital to help offset the cost of doctors.

Reeve chuckled inwardly; just 4 years ago Rufus Shinra and the Turks were some of the most feared people on the planet and now they run a charity organization. To this day the name Shinra still stirred a lot of negative emotions in most corners of the globe but in this town Rufus and his team are seen as savours who help the sick and poor. Rufus had a huge debt to pay for what his company did to the planet and he appears to be making good on his promise to atone for his sins.

Reeve walked up the long wooden staircase leaning to the front door of the lodge, now the mayor's office. He knocked twice before entering. He looked around as he walked into the main room and noticed the old Shinra company logo sign still hanging on the wall; a reminder of the past. The old lodge had not changed much since Reeve stayed there years ago apart from the addition of a few more desks and computers.

On the other side of the room Rufus was sitting alone at the biggest desk writing. Realizing someone had entered he shifted his attention away from his work. He looked up at Reeve with a somewhat surprised expression.

"Good evening commissioner," the blond greeted him.

"Good evening Mr. Mayor."

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Rufus asked with a grin. Reeve took a file from under his arm and placed it on Rufus' desk. "I keep telling you I don't need these," Rufus motioned to the file. "The money I gave you was a donation, not an investment; you are not accountable to me."

"I just want you to see how we are putting your donation to good use," Reeve explained. "Plus being accountable to you will keep me on the right track. Anyone has the potential of becoming corrupt with too much power."

Rufus knew exactly what Reeve was referring to and brushed it off. The Shinra executives, himself included, were some of the worst offenders in history with the exception of Reeve; he was the only who had integrity amongst them. He remembered Reeve was always given a hard time for being the good guy and was considered weak but in the end it was Reeve who came out on top.

"I know you didn't come all this way just to give me your quarterly report." Rufus laid down his pen and sat back in his chair. "So why the personal visit?"

Normally Reeve would just give his reports to one of the Turks; despite Rufus insisting that they were not necessary.

"I just wanted to go over the plans for next week," Reeve explained. "We will start with the Fort Condor reactor then Corel and Mt. Nibel. We plan on demolishing the Mt. Nibel and Condor reactors completely but the Coral reactor core will be dismantled and the remaining structure will be retrofitted as an oil refinery."

"What about Junon?" the ex-president asked.

"That's another issue I wanted to talk to you about. The Junon College has requested to use the underwater reactor as a laboratory for ocean research. If you agree, we plan to dismantle the reactor and donate the underwater observatory for educational purposes," Reeve explained.

With the destruction of Midgar, Junon became the new capital city under Reeve and the WRO. The city now housed the _World Regenesis Organization's main Headquarters and was an intellectual and financial powerhouse_. After meteor Reeve used equipment from Junon to help build Edge. He also helped the citizens of Junon turn it from a military city into an eco-friendly progressive city with the only colleges on the planet since the one in Midgar was destroyed. To assist Reeve, Rufus donated all the Shinra property in Junon to the WRO along with providing financial support so the WRO had everything it needed including a fully functional headquarters.

Even with the collapse of the Shinra Electrical Power Company Reeve knew Rufus was financially secure; the Shinra family had secret accounts in various cities, stockpiles of gold and silver along with several properties that Rufus sold after the economy strengthened under the WRO. He donated a generous amount of money to Reeve and the WRO because he trusted Reeve and knew he had the best intentions for the planet.

The only thing Rufus asked in return was put his Turks on the WRO payroll. The Turks were a family and Rufus wanted to insure that if something happened to him they would be able to stay together and work for WRO. Reeve honored his request without hesitation. It was a small request considering how much Rufus had assisted him and there were times when it benefited him to have access to people like the Turks.

"You can do whatever you want with the underwater laboratory," Rufus shrugged leaning back in his chair. "As long as the reactors are inoperable I don't care what you do with the remaining structures. The only thing I ask is that you destroy any technology you find relating to mako production, the Jenova project, or Hojo's research. "

Reeve nodded in agreement. "You are not the only one looking forward to this mission. This will bring closure to a lot of people. Do you have the schematics for the Coral reactor? It would help us with the reconstruction."

Rufus nodded. "I will check to see if the plans are in the files we managed to salvage. I have been meaning to go through them but we've been so busy with other priorities. If they are there I will ensure you receive them."

"Thanks," Reeve said as he turned to walk away but paused. "Oh, there is one other thing." Reeve turned back to face Rufus and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "We have been experiencing some problems with WRO members disappearing and murdered."

Reeve laid the paper on Rufus desk. "So far 15 are missing; all of them peacekeepers and engineers assigned to the Corel reconstruction project. An engineer and a scientist were found dead last week in Edge and they weren't related to the reactor project. I was hoping you could ask them to look..."

"Tseng is already aware of your dilemma and is looking into it," Rufus interrupted. "So far they haven't found anything you don't already know. Is it possible the recent homicides and Corel disappearances are not related and just a coincidence?"

"It could be," Reeve agreed.

He was thinking the same thing because the recent murder victims had nothing to do with the reactor project unlike the disappearances and the incidents occurred hundreds of miles apart. The only thing linking them was they all involved WRO employees. Reeve had a bad feeling about the disappearances; the last time people went missing like this Deepground first came to the surface from underneath the Shinra building. However, as far as he knew Deepground was destroyed a little over a year ago and there has been no evidence of their presence since the Omega incident.

"If they uncover any information I will ensure they advise you immediately." Rufus knew what Reeve was thinking because he was pondering the same thing. When he became president his father never told him about Deepground despite his subordinates Scarlet, Hojo and Heidegger having full knowledge of it. Rufus could understand going mad with power but some of the projects his father encouraged were disturbing and the fact that he was not advised of them angered him. He feared there were more projects out there linked to Jenova prompting his desire to discover and destroy anything related to Jevona and Hojo.

"I will keep you updated on our progress next week," Reeve said as he walked towards the exit.

"I have no doubt you will."

**Chapter 1 - The Plan**

The sun was just starting to shine through the bedroom window when Cloud awoke in a cold sweat. The extra light was starting to give him a headache so he opened his eyes slowly to help them adjust. After a few seconds his eyes adjusted but the headache lingered. He looked around the room and noticed the time on the clock, 8 AM.

Cloud then looked over next to him to see Tifa sleeping with her back to him. Sleeping in was unusual for her; normally she was the first person up in the mornings having breakfast ready before anyone else was even out of bed.

Cloud wondered if he kept Tifa up all night again with his restlessness. For the past few weeks he had been having restless and sleepless nights and when he did sleep he would often wake up suddenly in a cold sweat. Lately many of his dreams were just old memories of his time as a grunt soldier working for Shinra and his time fighting Sephiroth. The only memories he was unsure of were the ones involving Zack. Many of the dreams involving his old friend were unfamiliar to him but he assumed they were just supressed memories from a period in his life he had forgotten.

Suddenly the pain in his head started to intensify. These headaches were a common occurrence lately and varied in severity but never lasted too long. The last time he had headaches like these was when he was hunting Sephiroth but those headaches were always followed by voices in his head or flashbacks. He hoped this was not a sign he was going to have some kind of mental breakdown again.

Cloud closed his eyes and laid back down until the pain subsided. He looked over at Tifa who was still sleeping next to him. Cloud rarely got the opportunity to see Tifa sleeping so peacefully like this. She was usually up before him in the mornings and when he would suddenly wake in the middle of the night she would already be up ready to comfort him. Tifa was the shining beacon of light in his dark soul and the dark memories that hunted him.

He had been in love with her since they were children and would never want to do anything to hurt her. Although they have had feelings for one another for a long time they didn't act them until the night under the Highwind before they went to fight Sephiroth. It was one of the happiest moments of his life and they have been together since. That night, despite being surrounded by death and uncertainty, nothing matter to him except being with the woman he had loved for as long as he could remember. He wanted to spend every waking moment with her for as long as she wanted him by her side. The only exception was when he was infected with geo stigma and he distanced himself from Tifa and his family. During that time he was so consumed with darkness he didn't stop to think about what he was doing to everyone around him, especially Tifa. He regretted this and promised himself to never hurt her like that again.

Realizing his headache was gone Cloud slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake Tifa, and went downstairs. As he walked into the empty kitchen not a sound could be heard meaning everyone else was still sleeping.

Cloud went over to the fridge retrieving the eggs. It was usually Tifa who did the cooking in the mornings but Cloud was no stranger to the kitchen. He cracked some eggs into a bowl and started to beat them. 'Scrambled eggs and toast seemed like a breakfast everyone will like,' he thought to himself.

Cloud took a moment to savour the peace and quiet. They had a full house visiting and Cloud knew it would not be long before everyone was up. He didn't mind all the people though; they were all family to him. After meteor and his geo stigma infection he spent so much time trying to avoid them he felt he had to make up for lost time.

The smell of breakfast stirred some commotion upstairs followed by the sound of footsteps heading his way. Marlene walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning Cloud," she said as she walked over to the fridge pulling out the juice and laying it on the table.

"Morning Marlene," Cloud replied as he put some cooked eggs and toast on a plate for her.

Marlene walked over to a drawer and took out the cutlery setting the table. After she finished setting the table she sat down and started eating her breakfast.

"Thanks Cloud," she says before she started eating.

A few minutes later Denzel walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes still looking half-asleep.

"Morning," he said as he walked over to the table and flopped himself down in the chair.

Cloud dished him up a plate and laid it in front of him. Then Cloud sat down at the table with his own plate of food and poured a glass of juice for himself and Denzel.

The three ate their breakfast in silence until Shelke walked into the room with a smile on her face.

"Good morning everyone," she greeted the three. She walked over to the table and poured herself some juice.

"Breakfast?" Cloud asked her as she sat at the table.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry right now," she replied. "Maybe in a little."

"So Papa's coming home today right?" Marlene asked Cloud looking up from her plate.

Cloud nodded yes. "He should be," he told the young girl.

"How long will he be visiting before you all leave?" She asked.

Before Cloud could reply he was distracted by a loud thump sound coming from the second floor followed by the sound of fast footsteps marching down the stairs.

"Mornin'!" Yuffie shouted walking into the kitchen. "Mmmm that smells good. What's for breakfast?" she asked the group but before Cloud could answer she spotted the pan of scrambled eggs and walked over making herself a plate. She then quietly sat at the table next to Shelke and started scarfing down her food.

"I think we are heading out tomorrow," Cloud informed Marlene answering her question.

A disappointed look appeared on the young girl's face. She was hoping her father would visit for more than one day.

"Where's Tifa?" Yuffie mumbled looking around with her mouth full of eggs.

"Sleeping," Could answered taking a sip of his juice.

Suddenly their breakfast was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Cloud was about to stand up and get it but it only rang twice before stopping meaning Tifa must have answered it upstairs.

After a minute or two they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs and Tifa walked into the kitchen still looking a little tired.

"Good morning," she said with a big smile sitting on the last available seat at the head of the table.

Cloud walked over to the stove and fixed Tifa a plate of food bringing it to her.

"Thank you Cloud, this looks good," she complimented him while pouring herself a glass of juice. She took a few bites of her breakfast and looked over at Marlene. "I just got off the phone with your father," she informed the young girl, "he said that they are due to arrive at noon."

A smile appeared on Marlene's face.

"Can we go meet him?" She asked looking from Tifa to Cloud.

Cloud nodded yes causing Marlene's smile to grow wider. She finished the last few bites of her breakfast and stood up from the table with her plate.

"I'm going to go get ready," she said putting her plate in the sink and exited the kitchen.

"How long will you be away?" Denzel asked Tifa looking up from his breakfast. He was starting to appear a little more alert.

"I'm not sure," Tifa replied laying her fork down. "I guess for as long as it takes to finish the job. I think a few days but we should know more after our meeting."

Denzel gazes down at his plate looking a little disappointed.

"Don't worry Denzel you have Shelke and I here to look after you," Yuffie told the young boy trying to cheer him up. "You know you are going to have loads of fun with aunty Yuffie!"

Although Yuffie had been a member of the WRO for almost four years she had to stay in Edge for business and offered to help Shelke look after the Seventh Heaven and the children. The young ninja was recently promoted to the WRO internal affairs division a few months ago and was now the youngest middle manager at just 20 years old. Although Cloud had never seen it he was told by Cid and the others that she was very professional when at work and was very skilled at her job. Cloud was not surprised that she was good at her job; what a better person to catch liars and lawbreakers within the WRO then a master manipulator herself. When they first met her at the age of 16 she infiltrated their group and convinced them to travel to Wutai just so she could steal their materia. She did not go into details of her assignment with them other than it involved a WRO airship that recently went missing and was believed to be an inside job. Cloud had a feeling that whatever she was doing was also related to the two homicides that occurred last week.

After Yuffie's reassuring words a faint smile appeared on Denzel's face. Denzel wasn't that sad about them leaving; he was more upset about not being able to come with them. He's been wanting to be part of the WRO for a few years now but was told they don't allow children. He still had a few years until he was old enough to join.

No longer able to sleep through Yuffie's high pitched voice, Nanaki strolled into the kitchen. He had been staying with Cloud and Tifa for the last week. It wasn't uncommon for him to visit for a few days or weeks while passing through during his travels. Although Cosmo Canyon will always be his home, over the last year or two he had been feeling restless. Given his species long lifespan he figured he had years ahead of him to settle down at home and had been feeling the need to explore the world on his own. Everyone greeted him as he found a spot in the corner of the kitchen to sit down.

After finishing her food Yuffie grabbed her phone off the table. "We should text Vincent to make sure he knows what time to meet everyone," she informed Shelke. Being around the same age Shelke and Yuffie had become good friends over the last few months. Yuffie's outgoing and cheerful personality had appeared to have a positive effect on Shelke.

"I thought he was receiving a ride from Cid," Shelke informed Yuffie causing the young ninja to stop texting on her phone looking a little disappointed. She laid the PHS on the table and proceeded to take her plate over to the sink.

After everyone was finished eating breakfast they all left the Seventh Heaven and walked through Edge towards the airfield located on the outskirts of the city. It was located a little north of Jonny's Heaven and luckily for Jonny having the airfield nearby brought much needed customers to his outdoor establishment.

The group was not waiting in the airfield for long before the Shera landed and the aircraft doors opened. Marlene was jumping up and down with excitement before anyone even exited the aircraft.

After the doors opened some of the crew disembarked followed by Reeve, Cid, Barret, Vincent and a man Cloud did not recognize. The unknown man was around Cloud's age and height with short dark brown hair, brown eyes and glasses. He was wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and brown dress pants.

As soon as she saw her father exit the aircraft Marlene rushed up and jumped into Barret's arms.

"Hello sweetie," Barret said giving her a big hug.

"Hello everyone," Reeve greeted his friends as he approached. "I would like you to meet Miles," he motioned towards the stranger. "He is a specialists who has volunteered for the mission."

"Hello," Miles greeted everyone with a wave of his hand. He seemed a little nervous. They all greeted him back with a smile.

Everyone was conversing and catching up when Reeve looked at his watch. "I am sorry to break this up everyone but I have booked a conference room for 1 PM."

Yuffie, Shelke, Marlene, Nanakin and Denzel said their goodbyes and went back to Seventh Heaven while the rest proceeded towards the WRO building. The WRO's main headquarters was in Junon but it had satellite offices in Midgar and Corel, the second and third largest cities. Their Edge location was the second largest and although it was technically an army they also provided police and judiciary services to the city. Unlike Junon, Edge had yet to form a functioning government so the WRO filled the void in the meantime.

It didn't take long for the group to walk across town towards the WRO building. They all gathered around the conference table with Reeve standing at the head.

"I know most of you have volunteered for this mission but the reason I requested your participation is because you all have a working knowledge of the targets and the risks associated." Reeve paused and looked around the group before continuing. "I have been assured that all the reactors were turned off two years ago so they no longer drain Mako. This means there should be very few monsters around the target areas."

"What kinda risks are we lookin' at besides some goddamn monsters?" Cid interrupted. He was aware of everything going on lately and wanted Reeve to lay it all out on the table now so everyone knew before they started the mission.

"Some of you probably heard the rumours going around. This might be unrelated but some of the WRO members who were working on the Corel reactor project have been disappearing and another two WRO employees were found murdered here in Edge a little over a week ago." Reeve explained to the group. "So far we have no information on who is responsible or if the two incidents are related."

"Disappearances?" Cloud whispered, "Sounds familiar…"

"It can't be Deepground," Barret interrupted knowing what Cloud was referring to. "We took 'em down a year ago!"

Reeve nodded in agreement.

"We have no reason to believe it is Deepground at this point," he explained. "Since the disappearances are limited to just over a dozen WRO members working on the Corel project there could be a number of explanations _IF_ there's even a connection."

"Who or what else could be responsible?" Tifa asked Reeve.

The WRO had been experiencing a lot of challenges over the past few months including thefts, murders, and disappearances. Not to mention the fact that being an army there are people who oppose their operation along with trying to battle the rise in organized crime and the rumors of corruption from within.

"Well there are some people in Corel who oppose the idea of the reactor being turned into an oil refinery and there are others who oppose the WRO in general; just to give you some examples." Miles said coming to Reeve's defence. "Not to mention the fact that Corel is a high density area for dangerous monsters which could explain the disappearances."

Reeve nodded to Miles and scanned the group to see if there were any more questions so he could continue briefing them on the mission.

"The first target is Fort Condor and it should be straightforward. We sweep the reactor to ensure there are no occupants, then we arm it with explosives and detonate it. Since there are no towns or villages nearby we don't have to worry about creating a controlled explosion."

"What 'bout them people livin' in Fort Condor?" Barret questioned.

"The WRO intelligence division informed me that the people cleared out of Fort Condor shortly after the battle with Shinra," Reeve explained. "But there is always the possibility that people could be occupying it. That is why we are going to conduct a sweep beforehand and relocate anyone who may be living there."

Reeve paused to see if there were any further questions.

"The next stop is Junon where we are going to dismantle the reactor manually so we can preserve the underwater laboratory for scientific research. This will be a much longer process but I have a team of engineers who can tend to this project while the rest of you head over to Corel to assist Barret and Miles with their plans. After Corel, the rest of you will head Mt. Nibel and destroy the reactor like Fort Condor." Reeve paused and looked around the room again. "Any questions?"

"Why are we even blowin' up the Nibelheim and Condor reactors if they're shut down?" Cid asked.

Although he loved the idea of blowing stuff up he was one of the few who suggested that they should postpone this assignment given everything that has been happening over the past few weeks. Plus he had other projects he rather be working on right now.

"If we don't destroy the reactors anyone can walk in there and use them for nefarious purposes. The ability to draw mako from the plant can be tempting for a person or group who wants to harm the planet or requires large amounts of mako." Reeve explained. Deepground was another example of a group who attempted to use the Midgar reactors to try to harm the planet but he didn't want to mention them since everyone was fully aware of that incident.

Mako had been such a touchy subject lately all cities banned the production of new materia. People were still able to use and sell materia that was created before the fall of Shinra as well as naturally occurring materia but the demand had made it a very expensive and it was becoming a rare commodity. It was also a growing fear that as materia became scarcer it would drive a black market demand and criminal organizations might target reactors.

"Shouldn't we try to salvage any useable equipment from the reactors before we demolish them?" Miles asked half raising his hand like he was a student in class.

"We have all the equipment we need for the Corel and Junon projects," Reeve explained. "But if you find anything that could prove useful for your research feel free to take it. That being said, anything we find relating to Jenova or any projects relating to Hojo or Hollander must be destroyed."

Everyone nodded in agreement on that last point, they all wanted to see anything relating to Jenova destroyed.

"If there are no further questions we will meet back here at 900 hours tomorrow, meeting adjourned."

After the meeting Tifa invited everyone back to the Seventh Heaven for dinner and drinks. It had been a long time since everyone was last together. Tifa's bar was never full like this but it always had a good flow of customers. Some would come to drink and others liked it as a place to socialize with friends while grabbing a bite to eat.

There were a few regulars at the bar that night but they didn't seem to mind the large group. Many of the people in Edge knew who Tifa and Cloud were. Half the city witnessed Cloud slay the Behomut Kadage summoned a few years ago so he was a bit of a celebrity around town. Although very few people in Edge actually knew what Cloud, Tifa and the others did for the planet by stopping Sephiroth and Shina many knew that they helped others in need and assisted with the construction of Edge. As a result the Seventh Heaven was a popular place but tonight it was exceptionally lively.

Cloud and Cid sat at the bar near Tifa with two regulars while Barret, Marlene, Reeve, and Miles sat in a booth nearby. Vincent was sitting by himself in the next booth over until Shelke, Denzel, and Yuffie decided to sit with him forcing him into a conversation. This prompted Nanaki, who was lying on the floor next to Vincent, to get up and walk over next to Cloud where it was a little more peaceful. He then curled up in the corner while letting out a big sigh and closed his eyes.

Tifa happily looked around at the room full of familiar faces smiling and laughing. It was times like this that reminded her of the reasons why she enjoyed owning a bar.

Later that evening Reno and Rude walked into the bar and stood near the front entrance looking around. Tifa was not that surprised to see the two. It was not uncommon for them to stop in for a few drinks when they were in town. Rude walked over to the bar while Reno stood at Barret's table conversing. Seeing Rude approach Tifa poured them their regulars; a double scotch and a beer.

"Thanks," Rude said laying the gil down on the bar next to Cloud and taking the drinks. Without saying a word Cloud nodded to the bald Turk who nodded back.

Seeing his partner approach Reno walked over to a free booth by the entrance and slumped himself down. Reeve then excused himself from Barret's table then walked over to the Turk's booth and sat with them. Tifa was not trying to spy but she noticed Rude pull a big brown envelope out of his jacket and hand it over to Reeve. Reeve accepted the package and put it next to him on the table. They talked for a few moments and the two Turks exited after finishing their drinks.

With the envelope in hand Reeve got up from the booth and walked over to the bar with Cid, Cloud and Tifa. He took a seat next to Cloud and leaned on the bar closer to Cloud so Cid could hear him over all commotion.

"Reno and Rude said they saw lights coming from the Fort Condor reactor on their way here from Junon," Reeve informed them.

"I thought you said the reactor was deactivated years ago and everyone left," Cid asked before leaning back taking the last swig of his beer and laying the glass down. Tifa reached over and grabbed the glass refilling his drink.

"That's what I was told," Reeve informed the captain. "But they said most of the lights were moving around the outside of the reactor on the hillside, like people with flashlights. When they circled around to get a closer look all the lights were off except one shining through the window of the lookout shack on top. They said it was too dark to make out anything else."

"Then there still must be people living there," Tifa commented as she refilled Cloud's water. Cloud and Tifa were the only two not drinking. Cloud was never much of a drinker to begin with but he wasn't feeling up to drinking that night.

"I sent some people there two weeks ago to check it out and they said it was completely abandoned," Reeve explained. "They even interviewed people in a nearby village and confirmed our intel. The villagers said that after the battle with Shinra the men left the fort and went back to their families since there was no longer a condor egg to protect."

"Maybe they were just raiders," Cloud suggested, "they could be gone by morning."

After the fall of Shinra is was common for people to take parts of equipment, supplies and valuables from abandoned buildings.

"Perhaps you're right," Reeve agreed with Cloud before taking the last sip of his sake. Reaching for his glass Tifa looked at Reeve who nodded in approval prompting her to refill his drink.

It was past midnight when everyone finally left for the night. Barret owned an apartment in Edge for himself and Marlene to stay in when he was not busy working out of town. Even though it was late she did not want to leave his side so he took her back with him. Since there was limited space at Cloud and Tifa's place Vincent went with Barret to say in his spare room. Reeve also had his own place in Edge for when he was visiting for business so he took Miles and Cid to his place while everyone else went upstairs to bed.

It was a long day and Cloud was tired. He looking forward to his bed especially getting into bed with Tifa. After he was cured of geo stigma they decided to share a bed once she forgave him for his selfishness. He always made sure to get into bed first so he could watch Tifa undress. She was the most beautiful woman he had even seen and he knew he was lucky to have her. Growing up every boy had a crush on Tifa and as a child he was treated like an outcast by all the other boys. He chuckled inwardly; they would be so envious if they could see him now.

Tifa grinned at Cloud as he laid in bed with his arms propped behind his head watching her every move. She knew he enjoyed watching her undress for bed every night and she kind of enjoyed the attention from him. It made her feel good about herself.

Although she was always a little self-conscious about the huge scar on her chest she did not mind Cloud seeing it. Even with the scar Cloud thought Tifa had a perfect body but the scar did remind him of the time he could not be there to save her in time. He promised to never let that happen again.

He had been feeling uneasy the last few weeks with the headaches and nightmares. He was hoping the uneasiness was due to the upcoming mission and thinking about Shinra and the Mt. Nibel reactor where many of his nightmares originated from. It was in that reactor where Tifa got her scar and witnessed her father's murder. It was in that reactor that him and Zack were taken prisoner and experimented on for years. It was in that reactor where he battled Sephiroth for the first time as a teenager and almost lost his life.

Despite all the negative thoughts and feelings he had been experiencing the past few days he was not going to let it get to him. He made a promise to himself that he will never let anything get in the way of enjoying his time with his family and the woman he loved.

Watching Tifa undress in front of him he could not control himself. He sat up in the bed reaching out and grabbing her hand pulling her into bed before she had a chance to put on her pajamas. They proceeded to caress each other and make love before falling asleep in each other's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Fort Condor**

The next morning Barret dropped Marlene off at the Seventh Heaven with Yuffie, Shelke, Nanaki and Danzel. Nanaki did not to go on this assignment with the others opting to stay with the girls to help look after the bar. They all waved goodbye as Barret walked towards the airfield.

Cloud and Tifa had already left earlier that morning to load Fenrir onto the airship and meet up with everyone else. When Berret arrived they all boarded the Shera and took off towards Fort Condor.

Cid, Vincent, Barret, Cloud, Reeve, Tifa and Miles all gathered on the bridge of the airship to go over the plans. Cid was flying the airship so they all stood near the controls while Reeve addressed the group.

"We should split up in groups," he suggested. "Miles and Vincent will survey the reactor while Barret and I set the explosives. At the same time Cid, Tifa and Cloud can check the fort underneath for occupants. If we happen to find any people in or around the reactor we will inform them of our plans and offer to transport them to Junon with us. If they don't want to go back with us we need to ensure they stay away from the blast site. If everything goes as planned we should be in Junon by dinner time."

It did not take long for them to reach their destination. The Shera landed near the Fort just outside the blast zone and everyone but some of the crew exited the ship. As the group approached the fort nothing appeared out of the ordinary and there were no signs of life. Miles and Vincent walked towards the back of the fort so they could reach the reactor from the hillside. Barret, Reeve and two crew members followed the two towards the reactor carrying the explosives and blasting supplies. Meanwhile, Cid, Cloud and Tifa walked towards the front entrance of the fort.

Since the reactor was deactivated there was no power or lights inside the fort. Cloud, Tifa and Cid climbed up the rope ladder into the darkness above. All three pulled out flashlights and used them to survey the room.

"It doesn't look like anyone is here," Cid observed looking around.

"We should check every room just to make sure," Tifa added.

"There should be a ladder going down towards the top right corner of the room," Cloud said pointing his flashlight towards the ladder leading down to the room under them. "And there are two rope ladders leading to rooms above."

They were all very familiar with the layout of the fort having spent a few days there helping the rebels fight Shinra years ago.

"Let's start with the room where Reno and Rude spotted the light last night," Tifa suggested shining her flashlight towards the rope ladder closest to them.

She knew the room would be bright since it had a window and she was rushing to get this over with as quickly as possible. The room they were in was dark, damp and had a musty smell that was starting to bother her. She had been in Fort Condor many times before but this was the first time the smell was making her stomach turn. She knew the room above would have fresher air.

"Let's check it out," Cid said walking towards the rope ladder using his flashlight to lead the way.

The three made their way up the tunnel to the room above which was actually a wooden shack located on top of the fort. It was used as a lookout when the rebels were fighting battles against the Shinra. The window opening provided lots of natural light so the flashlights were not needed and the fresh air blowing in was a godsend for Tifa.

She breathed a sigh of relief trying to take in as much fresh air as she could.

"It doesn't look like anyone was up here," Tifa said looking around.

The room looked exactly how she remembered. She walked over to the window and looked out down the hill. She could see Vincent and Miles still hiking up the deep slope towards the reactor on top.

"We should move on to the next room," Cloud told the two turning towards the ladder.

The three exited the room making their way back down inside the fort. When they entered the darkness all three turned back on their flashlights and followed Cloud towards the next rope ladder leading to a room above.

By the time they climbed the ladder and entered the room the smell was starting to bother Tifa again. She tried breathing through her mouth to see if it would help but it just resulted in her tasting the damp mildewed air making it worse. She was determined to not let it get to her and forced back the nausea. She looked around the room with her flashlight and remembered that this room was once an item shop where the rebels sold weapons and materia. She doubted there were any supplies remaining after the place was abandoned.

"There's not a damn person in this place," Cid said shining his light around the dark empty room.

"We just have one more room to check to make sure," Cloud advised. He agreed with Cid but didn't want to risk the chance of missing someone before they blow the place up.

The three made their way back down to the main room and followed Cloud towards the far back corner. The last room was below them so they had to be careful where they stepped not to miss the ladder sticking out of a hole in the ground.

Tifa's nausea was worsening and she was starting to feel hot and sweaty. To her it felt as if she had walked into a sauna. Working by the faint glow of her flashlight she followed Cloud and Cid down the ladder.

The room they entered was the most familiar having used it many times to rest when they were traveling through years ago. As soon as Tifa entered the room she was hit with a horrible smell. The air in this room was thicker and had a copper smell to it. Tifa recognized the smell as blood but this was the first time it had ever bothered her this much. She tried limiting her breathing to just her noise or mouth in an attempt to overcome the smell and taste but nothing worked. Her stomach was starting to turn more and she was using every ounce of her strength to fight her nausea.

She could hear Cloud and Cid talking next to her but she was unable to concentrate on a single word they were saying. Her legs were starting to become weak so she went searching for a wall to support herself. As she walked she had to muster all her strength in order to force her legs not to give out. Knowing a wall was nearby she reached out her hand trying to feel for it while clenching her flashlight tight with the other hand.

When her hand made contact with the wall of dirt, clay and rock it felt cold and wet. Instantly she knew something was wrong. She immediately took her hand off the wall and shined her light on it only to find it covered in a red liquid; blood. Seeing the cold wet blood on hands was the last straw. The overpowering smell coupled with her nausea and cold sweat finally got the best of her. She managed to let out a slight noise before her legs finally gave out from under her and she fell down unconscious.

Cloud noticed that Tifa was so preoccupied with something she didn't hear him talking to her as she walked away from them. He knew something was wrong when she shined the flashlight on her hand and she collapsed in front of her. Luckily he was able to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Tifa!" he yelled as he held her in his arms trying to wake her.

"We need to get her back to the Ship," Cid told Cloud who threw her over his shoulder so he can climb the ladder as fast as he could towards the exit.

Prior to Tifa falling unconscious Cloud and Cid had examined the room and were unable to find anyone but did find the room covered with blood splatter like there had been massacre down there. They were unable to find bodies or pieces of bodies but it was evident that something happened down there. They could tell the blood splatter was pretty fresh and couldn't have been more than a few days old.

They exited the fort and were the first group to arrive on the airship. They were met by some crew members who spotted them approaching.

"Take her to the crew lounge," Cid told Cloud who made his way down with Tifa in his arms. Cid looked at one of the crew members, "get me a doctor, materia, potions, something!" Cid yelled in a panic.

"Sir, we don't have any of those things but we do have a first aid kit." The crew member informed Cid sounding a little nervous.

"Then get it and get down there!" Cid yelled. He pulled out his PHS and called Reeve to advise him of the situation. "Reeve we have a bit of a problem," he told the commissioner. "We cleared the fort but somethin's wrong with Tifa. She just passed out."

"We've finished setting the explosives and are on our way," Reeve informed the captain. "Vincent and Miles already passed us and should be there soon. Miles has some medical experience so he should be able to help."

Moments later Vincent and Miles boarded the ship and Cid explained the situation to them prompting Miles to head down to the staff lounge to see if he could assist. When Miles entered the lounge he saw Tifa laying on the couch with Cloud sitting next to her looking over her with a concerned expression. He looked up toward Miles as he entered the room. At the same time a crew member ran into the room with a first aid kit and handed it to Miles.

"Sorry I took so long; this is our only kit," the crew member told Miles who took the kit and walked towards Tifa.

Miles leaned down next to Tifa and placed his fingers on her neck checking her pulse while looking at his watch. A few seconds went by before he took his fingers off her and opened the kit.

"Well her pulse seems normal but she seems a little pale and her skin is clammy," he said rummaging through the kit. "From what Cid told me it could be shock from the blood she saw or maybe stress or low blood sugar. Do you know of any pre-existing conditions?" He asked Cloud then he looked down at her blood covered hand and pulled out some disinfectant wipes to clean it off.

"No," Cloud said looking at Tifa concerned. He knew Tifa and he knew they have seen worse so it couldn't have been shock. Tifa was a strong girl and he knew she would not faint at the sight of blood, even a room full of it. He wanted to believe Miles was right and it was just shock or stress but deep down he knew something was wrong.

Suddenly Cloud's phone went off.

"Hello," he said answering it. He could hear the sound of gunfire on the other end.

"Cloud I know you are preoccupied right now but we need your help outside and bring your sword," Reeve yelled above the gunfire. Then Cloud heard a click and silence.

"I got to go help Reeve and the others," Cloud informed Miles. "Can you watch over Tifa?"

Miles nodded yes while Cloud retrieved his sword and headed for the exit.

Outside the airship Cloud came face to face with his friends spread out across the grassy field fighting multiple creatures a few hundred feet away from the fort. He could see Vincent standing alone surrounded by three odd looking bird monsters. They looked like cokatoils but were larger and had a bizarre looking face on them. He appeared to be doing very well handing all three by himself shooting and dodging their attacks.

Reeve and Barret on the other hand were not faring as well as Vincent. They were next to each other surrounded by four creatures that looked like a bagnadrana, a bloatfloat and two needle kiss' but like the cokatolis they were larger and looked deformed. Barret was shooting at the bagnadrana and the bloatfloat while Reeve tried to hold off the other two with a pistol.

Figuring Barret and Reeve needed the most assistance, Cloud rushed over to them attacking the bloatfloat creature from behind. The bird like creature fell dead in one hit and in a single motion Cloud jumped towards the two other flying monsters hitting them both with one swing; they were dead before they hit the ground. By the time Cloud slayed the three monsters Barret was able to shoot the dinosaur like creature dead. After he was finished Cloud looked over towards Vincent who was just finishing off his last monster.

"These things look like the monsters around Mount Corel, but different..." Vincent said examining the creatures he took down.

"They're all messed up! What's wrong with their F%$#ing faces?" Barret replied kicking the dead dinosaur like monster.

Reeve walked over and examined the creature.

"Hmmm," he says bending down a little closer. "I think I've heard of this but…"

Before Reeve could finish his thought Cid came running up towards them with his spear in hand, a little late to the fight.

"What the hell happened?" Cid asked as soon as he reached the group. "I was in the engine room when my crew told me you guys were fightin' monsters."

"They attacked Barret and Reeve on their way back to the airship," Vincent informed Cid. "I was waiting outside when I saw the creatures appear from behind the fort and headed straight for them."

This was very odd because it was out of character for creatures to target someone like this. Usually they would only attack if you crossed paths with them in self-defence or if the monsters were carnivorous or protecting territory.

"We should go back to the ship and set off the explosives," Reeve told the group. "It's going to be dark soon."

The sun was just starting to set causing the sky in the west to turn a reddish-orange color with the sky behind the fort turning into a dark-blue night sky. Everyone started to walk towards the airship with the exception of Cloud who took a few seconds to look back towards the reactor. On top of the reactor he thought he saw the outline of a person but it was too dark and too far away to be certain.

Suddenly he felt the growing pain of a headache starting to come on but he ignored it and squinted trying to focus in on the dark figure far away. It was difficult to focus but he was sure he saw the outline of something fly up and away from the reactor disappearing into the night's sky. By the way it moved he assumed, if it was anything at all, it was most likely another one of those flying monsters he thought to himself before turning and walking back towards the airship.

When Cloud entered the airship he went straight towards the lounge to check on Tifa. Although he like the idea of witnessing the reactor's destruction Tifa was more important to him. When he entered the lounge Barret was sitting in a chair a few feet away from the unconscious Tifa with Miles sitting closest to her.

"She's still sleepin'" Barret updated Cloud as he walked over and sat in the empty seat next to the sofa Tifa was lying on.

"All her vitals appear to be normal," Miles informed Cloud who was relieved to hear the news but was worried that they were unable to find out what caused her to collapse.

There were no windows in the staff lounge but they all felt and heard the blast followed by the rumble of the airship engines being activated several minutes later. Reeve must have waited for the smoke and debris to clear before leaving the site because it was a while before they finally took off.

By that time Cloud's headache was intensifying but he tried to ignore it focusing on Tifa. However ignoring it did not help and Cloud wondered if his worrying over Tifa was making it worse. The pain was making the light hurt his eyes so he closed his eyes tight and leaned forward putting his head in his hands in an attempt to try to relieve the pain.

"Headache?" someone asked.

Cloud looked up to see Miles eyeing him with a concerned look. He thought he was doing a good job at hiding the pain but he was wrong.

Seeing Cloud's expression Miles knew he guessed right and continued explaining. "Last time I saw someone look like that I was working on the SOLDIER floor in Shinra. You remind me of a SOLDIER who has recently been exposed to Mako as painful headaches were a very common side effect."

Miles was starting to ramble and didn't even notice the confused look on Cloud's face. Miles' talking was not helping his headache but he didn't want to be rude after Miles helped with Tifa. Miles had a tendency to ramble when he was nervous and the look Cloud was giving him was making him think he was overstepping his bounds.

"But I'm sure that is not what's causing your headache…" He continued nervously not able to stop. "As far as I know the headaches were only a temporary side effect of mako exposure and it's probably been years since you were showered with Mako..."

Cloud never said anything to Miles about his past but figured Miles just assumed he was in SOLDIER from the glow in eyes and his fighting skills.

"Showered!" Barret laughed listening in on Miles' rant. "Spikey here swam around in the bloody lifestream and even survived Mako poisonin''"

A surprised look appeared on Miles face.

"Wow really?!" He said looking at Cloud in disbelief. "Surviving mako poisoning without becoming a vegetable is very rare. Plus to swim around in the lifestream and survive is almost unheard of." Miles appeared almost excited when hearing about Cloud's exposure to mako. Seeing the questioning look on Cloud and Barret's faces he realized he should explain the reason for his excitement. "Sorry, my field of study is the planet, mostly geology but I specialize in the lifestream and mako so hearing about this interests me."

"What does showerin' someone in mako do?" Barret asked. All he knew was Mako was the lifestream and it was the plant's lifeblood. He heard that Shinra would showered SOLDIER's in mako but he had no clue why exactly.

Miles turned his attention away from Cloud to Barret. "Just showering someone in Mako does absolutely nothing. Mako is a naturally occurring compound and before Shinra started using it as a power source the lifestream use to pool in abundance to the surface in natural springs. People use to fall into pools of it all the time but Mako eyes is something you only see in Shinra SOLDIERs. You need more than just a shower of mako to benefit from the effects. Shinra called it showering but they would expose their SOLDER's to large amounts of mako for a set period of time. Doing so permanently altered their DNA making them stronger, faster and so on. But it has some side effects like short term headaches, dizziness, fever, memory loss, glowing eyes, just to name a few. Not to mention you risk mako poisoning if you expose someone for too long; which is why they always choose the strongest and most resilient people for SOLDIER. Not only that but Shinra would also inject their SOLDIER's with small amounts of mako." Miles frowned. "Shinra used their SOLDIER's as ginny pigs for mako testing. When I was working for Shinra I heard rumors from other science departments that prolonged exposure would alter a person's DNA to the point where it could mutate them physically but that is only what I heard." He explained leaning back in his chair. "I only worked in the Materia room so I never witnessed any of this firsthand."

Miles turned his attention back to Cloud, "so how long were you in the lifestream for? How was your mako poisoning cured?"

Before Cloud could say anything Barret answered for him.

"Not sure how long he was swimmin' around for. He fell in at the Northern crater and they found em' in Mideel so we figured he was in there for at least a day or two, maybe more. He had mako poisonin' when we found em' and when Tifa and em' fell back in the lifestream she fixed em' ."

Miles looked at Barret with disbelief. He had never heard of anyone being cured of mako poisoning let alone being cured by falling back into the lifestream.

Ignoring the pain Cloud looked over at Tifa who was still sleeping. He had no memory of being in Mideel with mako poisoning but he knew she stuck by him the whole time he was sick. She was the one who knew him well enough to help him sort out his memories in the lifestream and was able to help him find the real Cloud. He knew he wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her.

"Interesting," Miles said leaning back in his chair deep in thought. He looked over at Cloud. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you having these headaches for?" he asked the blond. "It could be from long term Mako exposure or a side effect of the mako poisoning. If you want I can run some tests after this assignment to find out the extent of the Mako mutation but, mind you, I am not a doctor I just have some working knowledge on the subject."

"No thanks," Cloud replied without even considering it.

Cloud was never one for doctors and tests plus he figured it's too late to worry about what the mako did to his body since it was irreversible. Not to mention all the Jenova cells that were pumped into him by a crazy scientist. Cloud figured the less people who knew about that the better. By the age of 17 Cloud had already been cut open by Sephiroth, then experimented on by a scientist for a 4 years, and by the age of 21 he had mako poisoning twice. If the worst thing to come out of all that were a few headaches now and then he should consider himself lucky.

"I understand," Miles replied packing up the first aid kit.

The three sat in silence until they landed in Junon a few minutes later.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - Junon**

Tifa awoke four hours after they arrived in Junon. It took her a few seconds to remember what happened before she fell unconscious then she realized she was no longer in Fort Condor. She was in an unfamiliar bed in a dark room with the only source of light being moonlight shining in through an opened window. She assumed she was in Junon because she could smell the ocean breeze coming in through the window.

She looked over to see Cloud sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. With the moonlight shining in she could just make out his figure and could see the glow in his eyes. She thought about what happened earlier and felt a little embarrassed fainting and making Cloud worry.

Noticing Tifa was awake Cloud looked over at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Ye…yeah," Tifa replied sitting up in the bed.

She looked at Cloud trying to force a smile. His concerned look made her feel nervous and she was having a hard time looking him in the eyes. She was overwhelmed with emotion and felt so confused, strained, and scared right now she didn't know what to say.

"I see…" Cloud turned away from Tifa a little offended. He had known Tifa long enough to know she was lying to him. He was a little hurt that she wouldn't tell him what was wrong; didn't she trust him after all they've been through?

Tifa could tell Cloud knew something was wrong and that he was upset she was withholding the truth from him.

"Cloud I…" she started to say something but stopped herself. She hated hiding things from him and wanted to tell him but she wasn't sure if it was the right time.

Realizing she wanted to tell him, Cloud turned to look at her.

"Whatever it is Tifa you can tell me..."

The light from the moon was shining on Cloud's face causing his eyes to glow a bright blue. The way he looked at her made her feel calm and safe, like everything was going to be ok. She cared about him so much she didn't want to worry him anymore. Cloud reached over and held her hands gently. His eyes were so intense she had to look away to say it.

"I wanted to tell you after the mission but..." she took a deep breath, "….I'm pregnant."

Saying it was such a relief but at the same time a wave of fear rushed over her. She wasn't sure what his reaction would be and she couldn't face him to find out. She felt tears starting to build in her eyes but she fought hard not to cry. A few seconds passed but it felt like minuets. Tifa wondered if Cloud was upset but couldn't bear to look at him to find out. Then he released her hands and leaned forward embracing her tightly. Unable to fight it anymore tears starts rolling down her cheeks as Cloud tightened his hold on her.

"It's going to be alright," Cloud reassured her.

The truth is he was just as scared as she was but not because he wasn't ready to have a child; he loved Tifa and they were practically raising Denzel and Marlene. His fear were validated by the conversation he had with Miles earlier. The mako he was exposed to altered his DNA but what he feared most was the Jenova cells within him. There was no doubt in his mind that he passed them on to his child and he was afraid what kind of effect this would have. His child was conceived with Jenova cells and he had no idea what it would do to his unborn child. What if they created the next Sephiroth or worse? He had a feeling Tifa was thinking the same thing and that's what was worrying her. She was the only one who knew everything about what happened to him in the basement of the Shinra manor, well at least she knew everything he knew; his memories of the incident were still blurry.

The two sat alone in the room holding each other. Their minds were racing so much they were unable to sleep so they decided to go for a walk. It was close to midnight when they walked out of the Inn onto the city streets. It was a warm night but being near the Ocean provided a cool breeze.

Since the fall of Shinra Junon had transformed into a progressive, environmentally friendly metropolis with a booming population full of academics and growing industry.

Despite it being late the streets were still busy and most of the people they passed were young students coming from or going to the local bars and clubs. They did pass the odd patrolling Junon security officer who gave Cloud an odd look; most likely due to the large sword strapped to his back.

They continued walking through the city until they came across some familiar faces. Up ahead they saw Vincent with his back to them talking to Tseng and Elena. Elena, who was facing them, noticed the two and waived them over. Seeing Elena waive Vincent and Tseng stop talking and looked back towards them.

"Hello," Elena greeted the two.

"Hello," Tifa responded.

Cloud nodded hello to Tseng who nodded his head slightly in response.

"Tseng and Elena were just telling me about news they received from Corel," Vincent informed Cloud and Tifa.

"As I was telling Vincent," Tseng informed them. "We've heard that a pack of monsters attacked Corel. It appears they have had targeted the residents of the worker camp who are working on the reactor project."

Cloud looked at Vincent. "I wonder if it's the same monsters who attacked us earlier."

Tifa was a little surprised to hear that they were attacked earlier. Cloud failed to mention that to her.

"Reno and Rude were the ones who informed us," Elena told the group. "They said the creatures looked like the monsters around Corel but were bigger and but had strange looking faces on them. Apparently they looked like they had human faces or something."

"It sounds like Angeal copies," Tseng informed the group.

"What are Angeal copies?" Cloud asked the Turk.

"Reeve didn't tell you?" Tseng looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow. "Well I'm just speculating but years ago before the Nibelheim incident there were two 1st class SOLDIERS, Genesis and Angeal, who were the products of project G. They had the ability to transfer their powers into other beings be it human or beast. Usually the injected subjects would not only gain their powers but would also begin to look like them resulting in the altered faces. Last I heard Genesis and Angeal died years ago but it could be someone connected to project G."

"What is project G?" Tifa asked.

"The G is for Gillian," Tseng explained. "When Jenova was first discovered professor Gast assigned Hollander and Hojo to separate projects involving Jenova cell with the objective of creating a person with the powers of the Cetra. Hollander's project was called project G and Hojo's was called project S. Project G produced Genesis and Angeal while project S produced Sephiroth. As we know they were unable to create a person with the powers of the Ancients. Project S was determined to be the more successful specimen and project G was believed to be scrapped but it wasn't since it has ties to Deepground."

"How did Genesis and Angeal die?" Cloud asked. These two names sounded familiar but he had no clue where he heard them before.

"Your friend Zack killed them after they defected from Shinra. Don't you remember?" Tseng answered Cloud looking a little confused. "You were with us in Modeoheim when Zack defeated Angeal."

Cloud paused trying to think back. Many of his memories involving Zack were vague and hazy. He could only remember bits and pieces of the time they first met. Trying to think back to when he was working for Shinra he could remember a helicopter crash and climbing a mountain with Zack. He remembered Zack being impressed that he was about to keep up with him and they made a joke about both of them being country boys. Everything else about that day was a blur and he could not remember meeting Tseng when he was a Shinra employee.

Cloud shook his head, "Sorry I don't remember."

Tseng could sympathize with Cloud. He knew what Hojo did to him and Zack after the Nibelheim incident. He couldn't even imagine what abuse they suffered in that laboratory. He knew they were experimented on and tortured for four years so he was not surprised to see that Cloud suffered some memory loss.

"Well we need to continue on to Corel. Reno and Rude managed to fight off the monsters and do some damage control but they can't stay for long and I have a feeling this is not the last of them," Tseng advised the others.

"We've informed Reeve of the situation in Corel," Elena told the group. "He said you all should be arriving in Corel tomorrow to help out. We will meet you there and will let you know if we find any more information."

With that the two Turks turned and walked towards the aviation hanger located above the city.

"I wonder if these monsters have any connection to Deepground," Cloud looked at Vincent who appeared deep in thought. Cloud had a feeling that Vincent was thinking the same thing.

"Deepground was reportedly destroyed so we shouldn't make any inferences until we have some proof." Vincent was the one who took down the unground group and as far as he knew they were all wiped out. It had been a year since his battle with them and there had been no trace of them since.

"Do you think this has something to do with the reactors?" Tifa asked.

"When Miles and I investigated Fort Condor today we discovered parts of the reactor missing. He appeared to be interested in the type of equipment. Maybe we could ask him what exactly it was and if he has any idea what it can be used for. Perhaps someone is using these monsters as a distraction," Vincent suggested. Being a former Turk he always had a sixth sense about these things and this was making alarms go off.

"The missing equipment could be anyone," Cloud responded. "It's common for raiders to pilfer old Shinra technology to sell or use."

"What about the blood filled room in the fort?" Tifa asked. "Did you find out where or who the blood came from?"

Cloud shook his head no. "Besides the blood the room was completely empty." He looked at Vincent, "do you know the connection between Project G and Deepground?" He had very little knowledge of both other than assisting Vincent with fighting Deepground and their plan to summon Omega.

"All I know is that Deepground was constructed on Genesis's powers and all the Tsviets were created using his genes." Vincent responded. "As Tseng suggested Reeve might have more information on these Genesis copies."

"We should meet with Reeve first thing tomorrow morning and find out what he has planned next." Cloud proposed.

They all agreed and there was a short pause.

"We have an early day tomorrow and I'm starting to get tired," Tifa informed Cloud. She looked back at Vincent, "Are you coming back to the Inn?"

"I'm not tired."

"Well, have a goodnight Vincent."

"Goodnight." Vincent said to Tifa and Cloud before turning to walk away.

Cloud and Tifa made their way back towards the Inn for the night. Although they both had a lot on their mind it didn't take long for them to fall to sleep thanks to the cool sea breeze.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Junon pt. 2**

By the time Cloud and Tifa arrived at the WRO headquarters everyone else had already gathered in the conference room. Barret looked distressed and outraged; they assumed it was from the news of his hometown being attacked. Reeve was at the head of the conference table with Cid, Vincent, Miles and Barret sitting around him. They all stopped talking and looked at Cloud and Tifa as they enter the room.

"Good morning," Tifa told the group as she sat down.

"Good morning," Reeve replied. "As I was just telling everyone we might have to cut your time in Junon short due to the situation in Corel. Cid will take you to Corel this afternoon while I stay to oversee the demolition of the underwater reactor. I will meet up with you as soon as I am finished. Then we will continue on to Mt. Nibel."

"Why do we have to wait 'til the afternoon to go?" Barret asked obviously annoyed with the idea of having to wait to go to Corel.

"Don't worry Barret I've dispatched all available WRO peacekeepers to Corel. I need you and Miles here for the day to meet with the engineer who is going to help with the Junon reactor." Reeve informed his one armed friend. "Now that you won't be staying to complete the Junon project I need you to go over the plans with him before you leave."

Reeve pulled a brown envelope out of his briefcase that was sitting on the floor next to him. Tifa recognized it as the package Rude gave Reeve the night before.

"Here is all the information I could find on the Corel reactor," he informed Barret and Miles. "It includes blueprints, reports, data and some other information that might prove useful."

Miles was closest to Reeve so he accepted the package and placed it on the table between him and Barret.

Reeve looked over at the rest of the group.

"The next few days will probably be very busy so take this time to go get supplies, food or anything else you might need before you leave. The airship will depart at 1400 hours."

Cloud, Vincent, Tifa, and Cid all got up from their seats to leave while Barret, Miles, and Reeve stayed behind to discuss the underwater reactor project. Before Cloud could leave the room Miles called out to him causing him and Tifa to stay behind.

"I have something for you," Miles told Cloud pulling a vile of blue liquid from his pocket. "This is what we use to give SOLDIER recruits to help them with their mako induced headaches. If it is mako exposure that's causing you headaches this should help."

He handed Cloud the vial. "Don't worry it's not old, I made a fresh batch and it's all natural so even if your headaches are not mako induced taking it won't harm you in any way."

"Thanks," Cloud said accepting the vial.

"Just take it next time you feel one coming on," Miles directed him.

Miles looked back to see Barret and Reeve waiting for him to finish talking with Cloud.

"I should get back to the meeting. See you later." Miles than walked back towards Reeve and Barret while Tifa and Cloud exited into the hallway.

Tifa looked at Cloud.

"Headaches?" she asked him a little concerned. She didn't know Cloud was experiencing headaches and she wondered what they had to do with mako.

"Nothing major," Cloud replied shrugging it off. "Just these little headaches I get. Miles thinks it might be from the mako poisoning."

"Oh…" Tifa was not surprised that Cloud didn't mention it to her. He always kept this kind of stuff to himself especially knowing it would make her worry. "Do you get them a lot?"

"Not often." Cloud lied. At first they were occasional but the last few weeks they have been increasingly frequent, lasting longer and were more painful.

They stepped into the hallway to see Vincent and Cid talking.

"How are you feelin' girly?" Cid asked Tifa as her and Cloud approached.

"Better," she smiled sheepishly. "I don't know why but there was something about the fort that really got to me."

Cid smiled.

"Yeah that place gave me a bad vibe. Glad to see you're feeling better." He turned to the rest of the group. "Man, there is some crazy shit goin' on. I heard some of the workers in Corel went missin' after last night's attack."

"So it's not just WRO members?" Tifa asked surprised. "What could these disappearances and the monster attacks have in common?"

"I asked Reeve about Genesis and Angeal copies." Vincent informed them. "He said he doesn't know much but he remembers an incident when the Shinra building in Midgar was attacked by Genesis copies. As far as he knew Genesis and Angeal were the only two at the time related to the Jenova project who were able to make copies of themselves."

"But if they're both dead then who is making the copies?" Tifa inquired. "Tseng said Deepground had ties to project G. Is it possible one of them survived and learned how to make copies?"

"Maybe," Cloud mumbled deep in thought. If this was related to Deepground he wondered why they had not seen these copies until now.

"I can call Shelke and see if she has any information," Vincent suggested. "She might know something about project G since she was linked to Deepground."

"When you call her can ask how the children are doing?" Tifa added.

Vincent nodded yes and parted from the group.

Cid turned to Cloud and Tifa.

"I was speakin' to one of the workers who is overseein' the Junon reactor project. He said that since the reactor has been turned off the monsters crawlin' around have gone down but there are still some lingerin'" Cid grinned at Cloud and Tifa playfully. "I volunteered to go down and clean the place up, you two wanna join?"

Cloud looked at Tifa who nodded in approval as she started to put on her gloves.

"Just like old times," the captain said as his grin widened. He was a little disappointed he missed yesterday battle and wanted to let off some steam.

The three made their way down to the underground reactor. Cid was right; the number of monsters around the reactor had decreased dramatically since they last visited.

The majority of the creatures were confined to the underwater glass pipe. Having the reactor deactivated meant there was no mako runoff being leaked into the environment creating all kinds of mutated monsters. They could tell the area had rarely been used, up until now, and the few WRO members who patrolled the reactor in preparation for the upcoming transformation seemed to be relieved that the creatures will soon be eradicated.

Clearing out the tunnel was easier than anticipated; either the monsters were weaker than they remembered or they were stronger. To speed up the process the three split up to fight solo. After their battles Tifa and Cloud met up at the south end of the tunnel and went to go find Cid. They located him at the North end of the tunnel lighting up a smoke.

"What took you so long?" he asked with a smile and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"I think that's all of them but we should take one last look around," Tifa suggested.

She was actually feeling more rejuvenated after fighting. The three wandered around the underwater structure looking for monsters but did not find any. They circle back towards the glass pipe and continue on towards the reactor.

By the time they reach the reactor it was already full of people who must have received word that the monsters were cleared out. The workers appeared to be so busy they walked by the three like they were invisible. From the entrance they could see Miles, Reeve and Barret standing in front of the reactor with two other people, most likely engineers. All their backs were facing them so they couldn't see exactly what they were doing.

"I wonder if they have any old Shinra submarines still down here." Cid commented finishing his cigarette and looking around for somewhere to put it out.

"You want to go check?" Tifa asked with a smile.

She hadn't been down there in such a long time she kind of wanted to take a look around. The two continue down the catwalk towards the submarine dock with Cloud slowly trailing behind. As he walked past the reactor he saw Miles walking towards him alone.

"Hey Cloud," Miles greeted the blond who stopped to talk. "You're also here to watch the real professionals at work?"

"You're not helping with the reactor?" Cloud asks a little unsure what he was referring to.

Miles smiled. "No. When it comes to reactors Barret is the professional. He actually helped build the Corel reactor and has destroyed his fair share, from what I heard. They asked me down here to see if the drill sight the reactor was pumping mako from was sealed before they dismantled it. The planet's crust is so thin down here the last thing we want is a mako spill. Luckily this also gives me a chance to check out the reactor for something mako related."

"What?"

"Well inside these reactors should be a rare type of materia that is larger than the average materia but I just can't seem to find any." A look of frustration quickly passed over Miles' face.

"What do you plan to do with the huge materia?" Cloud asked.

Miles looked at him a little surprised.

"So you know what I am referring to?" he smiled at the blond. "Well I have this project I am working on. As you know even though I am helping Barret with the Corel project I don't see oil or coal as a long term sustainable energy source and, as we all know, Mako is out of the question. But materia is just as powerful as mako and once mako has been turned into materia it can't be turned back into mako. Also materia will never run out; it's a renewable long lasting source of energy and the more you use it the stronger it becomes. I have created a device that can harness the materia's power and with one 'huge materia', as you call it, I should be able to power a whole city. Assuming my hypothesis is correct of course."

"But I thought only humans can use materia?" Cloud asked.

"Not necessarily," Miles objected. "Cait Sith is a robot and he was able to use materia. It was actually Reeve's toy that inspired me. He approved the project as long as I don't break the mako/materia laws and he wants to oversee the prototype. He's not sure how the public will take it but if they are supportive he said he will fully fund it. Do you know where I can find some huge materia?" he asked Cloud looking very excited.

"I have a few pieces stashed in a safe place," Cloud informed him.

Cloud was very protective of the huge materia and was not sure if he should tell Miles where it is but Reeve and Barret seemed to trust him.

Miles looked at Cloud in shock. "You mean you have more than one?"

Cloud nodded in agreement and Miles smiled.

"Well I guess it's good that you got to them before Shinra, who knows what they would have done with it. Do you think you would let me have one after this mission is over? Just think of the possibilities if we discovered a limitless form of clean energy."

Cloud was reluctant to answer. He liked Miles' ideas but didn't know if he should give him such a powerful materia.

"You don't have to answer me now," Miles said sensing Cloud's hesitation. "Just please keep my request in mind. I will prove to you my intentions are for the greater good."

It's not that Cloud didn't trust Miles; he didn't want anyone to have such destructive power even if it was for the greater good. Cloud knew from past experience how too much power can corrupt someone and he took the huge materia from Shinra to stop them from using it for nefarious purposes. Miles should know this since he worked for Shinra. That's when it occurred to Cloud to ask Miles about Project G and Genesis.

"You said you use to work on the SOLDIER floor, do you know anything about the experiments on some of the 1st class SOLDIERs?" he asked the scientist.

"Well as I said before I only worked in the materia division but on occasion when a co-worker was on leave I would help out with the mako infusion on the new SOLDIER recruits." Miles paused for a moment thinking. "A few of my coworkers talked about experiments on some 1st class SOLDIER's but I don't have any firsthand knowledge, apart from what they told me."

"Do you know anything about a project G?"

Miles laughed a little.

"It's funny you ask. Normally Shinra scientists are sworn to secrecy even amongst fellow employees but I had a friend who worked as Hollander's assistant and after Hollander deserted Shinra he became a lot more vocal about project G." Miles paused and folded his arms looking deep in thought for a few seconds until he continued. "I was told this a long time ago but if I remember correctly, Project G stood for Gillian and Gillian was a woman Hollander injected with Jenova cells. Hollander predicted that whoever received Gillian's cells would receive Jenova's powers. Genesis was the first test subject and is the only one I know who was made this way. Hollander's project was not deemed very successful though. I heard Genesis succumbed to degradation and died."

"Degradation?" Cloud asked puzzled. "I thought a SOLDIER named Zack killed Genesis."

"Zack? That name does not sound familiar. But there were lots of people in SOLDIER, it's possible I've never met him. Maybe you are right and I was given the wrong information." Miles paused for a moment thinking then suddenly snapped his finders remembering something. "Oh, I do know of another person linked to Project G named Angeal but he was more of an accident."

"Accident?"

"Well Angeal was Gillian's son so he inherited the Jenova cells from Gillian," Miles paused again trying to remember more details. "I think he was deemed the more successful specimen because he inhered the cells from Gillian directly and his degradation was slower."

A wave of fear rushed over Cloud. Angeal inherited Jenova cells from his mother and died from degradation. He wondered if the same thing would happen to his child if he passed on the Jenova cells to him or her. He suddenly had a mountain of questions to ask Miles and didn't know where to start.

"Would anyone with Jenova cells pass them on to their offspring like Gillian did? Would it matter if it was the mother or father who passed on the Jenova cells?"

Miles laughed at the question.

"Well I'm not that kind of scientist. Even with the knowledge of biology I do have I do not know enough about the circumstances of Gillian's case so I would have no way of knowing. For example I don't know if she was with child when she was injected or if it occurred after. I would need to review the research papers or examine someone who has been infected but I think at this point we will never know; all research papers related to project G were destroyed and everyone with Jenova cells are long gone."

Cloud knew that was not true. Apart from himself having Jenova cells he knew Shelke was also experimented on using Genesis' cells.

"What if I could give you a sample?" Cloud suggested. "Would you be able to tell how the Jenova cells would affect the infected person's child?"

Miles paused and contemplated the question.

"I suppose once I study the sample and see how the Jenova cells affected the host's cells I could make an educated guess on what effects it would have on their offspring. There are so many factors to consider. I think it would also depend on if the affected person is the mother or father and how much time the Jenova cells had to alter the host's cell…" Miles appeared to trail off lost in thought then suddenly looked back at Cloud confused. "But how would you be able to secure a sample?"

Cloud could tell Miles was puzzled with the nature of his questions so he figured it probably won't be too long before he put two and two together. Cloud took a deep breath debating whether or not to tell Miles but he really wanted to know the impact the Jenova cells might have on his child, if any, especially after hearing about degradation.

"I was injected with Jenova cells years ago. Will you help me?"

A look of understanding appeared on Miles face when he realized why Cloud was asking all these questions.

"I will gather some supplies and can take a sample on our way to Corel."

"Thank you," Cloud replied.

He wondered if he should tell Tifa but decided it would be better to wait and tell her when he had more information. There was no point worrying her until he had all the facts.

Miles looked at his watch.

"Well it's almost one o'clock and I still have some stuff I have to take care of before we depart. See you later."

Miles turned and walked towards the exit while Cloud continued on towards the submarine dock to go meet up with Tifa and Cid. They were standing by the dock with Cid looking a little disappointed that there were no Shinra submarines left. Cloud made a mental note to tell Cid where he last left the submarine they commandeered a few years ago so he could let the captain take it for a spin.

Seeing Cloud approach Cid looked at his watch.

"We still have some time. Do you two want to come see the project Shera and I were working on?" The captain asked. "I was going to go over to say hi to the team."

"Are you talking about your satellite?" Tifa asked. "I heard from Barret you launched last week. Sorry we missed it."

"That's okay" Cid told Tifa. "I know you two are busy and Rocket Town is far."

"We would love to see." Tifa told Cid and they proceeded to back up to the WRO Headquarters.

They followed Cid to the 4th floor and down the hall until Cid stopped at a set of double doors marked 'control room'. Inside was a big wide open room full of tables with mechanical parts, computers and equipment. The surrounding walls were full of schematics and diagrams of what looked like satellites and satellite parts. The room was full of people working on various projects.

Straight ahead of them was a door leading to another room. On each side of the door was a window and inside they could see that there were a few people sitting in front of a large control panel and multiple screens.

"This is where the magic happens. It was nice being able to work with Shera on something," Cid told his friends.

"Where is Shera now?" Tifa asked.

"She's back working on the oilrigs. She took time off to help us with this but she had to get back as soon as it launched."

Then a young girl who was working at a table nearby spotted Cid and walked over to him.

"Hey Cid!" She greeted him.

"Hey Samantha," he greeted the girl back. "These are my friends Cloud and Tifa. I'm just giving 'em a tour of the place." He turned towards Cloud and Tifa. "Guys this is Samantha. She helped programed the navigation system."

"Hi," Cloud and Tifa greeted the girl.

"Nice to meet you. Cid has told me about you and all your crazy adventures," she told the two. "I could listen to his stories all day," she said looking at Cid. Her cheeks started to turn a little red as she looked at the captain. It was apparent to Cloud and Tifa that this young girl had a crush on him. Cid looked oblivious to this which made Tifa smile.

Realizing she was starting to stare at the captain, Samantha looked away.

"Did you hear about what happened to Ken and Sarah?" the girl asked changing the subject. "It's horrible, they were such nice people."

"I heard, I hope they catch the person responsible." Cid said looking a little upset. He glanced over at Tifa and Cloud who looked a little lost. "They were the two people found murdered in Edge. They worked on the satellite with us." Cid informed them.

"With Sarah gone they had to find someone to replace her as head programmer. I heard they asked Shera but she turned the offer down."

"She didn't mention that to me," Cid informed Samantha. "Not surprisin' though; Shera is more of a hands on kind of gal. She wouldn't want to be glued to a computer all day."

"Well, I will let you finish showing your friends around. See ya Cid." Samantha smiled sweetly and walked back to her station.

Cid waived goodbye.

"She's a sweet girl," Cid said turning to Cloud and Tifa. "What?" he asked wondering why they were both grinning at him.

"Cid, you know she has a crush on you right?" Tifa asked.

"Her? Nah, she knows I am married," he told Tifa.

"If you say so," Tifa said trying not to laugh. "So you were going to show us the control room?" She asked changing the subject.

"Yeah this way," Cid said as they followed him towards the door across the room.

They entered the control room and inside were three people busy working. Two of people were sitting at the control panel while one was sitting at a desk behind them working on a computer. All three people stopped what they were doing and looked in their direction when they entered the room.

"Hey Cid," all three of them said at once before turning their attention back to their work.

"Hello," Cid replied before turning to Cloud and Tifa. "This is where they control everythin' and where all the information from the satellite comes in before it's stored."

"What is this satellite used for?" Tifa asked.

"A few things," Cid replied. "We use it for telecommunications so now WRO members will have satellite phone service available anywhere on the planet. Only a few people have the satellite phones right now but we plan to expand it to all members and then in a few years open it to the public. We also have a telescope for surveillance so we can see and map every corner of the globe. It also collects data for research purposes. Those are just some examples. It is a lot more advance than the old Shinra one."

"I didn't know Shinra had a satellite," Cloud said.

"Yeah I helped send one up when we were testin' our rocket capabilities. This was years before they even considered sendin' a human up into space. We based some of our plans on their design but updated the technology a bit."

One of the young people working at the control panel furthest from them was listening to Cid talking and laughed.

"A bit! That old design was seriously outdated. Like you, it belonged in the Stone Age," the boy joked.

Cid shook his head at the cocky youth.

"Kids today," he laughed, "he thinks I'm old."

The boy was the youngest looking one amongst.

"That's because you ARE an old man," the student said with a smile not even looking away from his computer screen.

"I'm not THAT old," the thirty-six year old said jokingly trying not to laugh. "You better respect you elder's young man. I've been to space you know."

"Yeah yeah old man we all know you've been to space," he said rolling his eyes still smiling.

"That's Peter," Cid told Cloud and Tifa. "He's a genius. He's only sixteen and is a university student doing an internship with us."

Then Cid looked down at his watch. "Shit, it's quarter to two. I got to go prep the ship before we leave."

Cid said goodbye to his friends and the three of them rushed towards the airship.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Corel**

At two o'clock everyone was on the airship and ready to go. Joining them on their flight to Corel were a handful of WRO peacekeepers and a few engineers to assist Barret and Miles with the Corel project. When Tifa and Cloud entered the bridge they found Vincent talking with Cid who was piloting the airship.

"How is everyone back home?" Tifa asked Vincent once he was done speaking with Cid.

"They are fine but Marlene misses you two and Barret," Vincent replied.

"Any news?" Cloud asked Vincent.

"Shelke had very little knowledge of project G other than Deepground using Genesis' DNA in some of their experiments. She said herself and the other Tsviets were the only members spliced with Genesis' cells and Weiss and Nero even referred to him as brother." Vincent paused and looked from Tifa to Cloud. "She also had some information on Genesis' last known whereabouts. She said that last she heard Genesis he was alive and sealed himself in a cavern underneath Midgar. She didn't know if he survived after Deepground and Omega were destroyed."

"This doesn't make since," Cloud said confused with the conflicting information. "Tseng said that Zack killed Genesis and Miles said that he heard Genesis died from degradation. Now Shelke is telling us that he could be alive."

The troubling truth was that he had more reason to believe Shelke since she was usually right about these things; she was like a living computer. If Genesis was alive it would explain the Genesis copies they have been encountering. The look on Tifa and Vincent's faces told Cloud that they were thinking the same thing.

"But if he was alive why would he be abducting people and why is he sending copies to stop us from destroying the reactors?" Tifa questioned.

"There are still a lot of questions that need answering," Cloud responded. "Nevertheless, we need to find out who is responsible and hopefully find the missing people."

From the corner of his eye Cloud noticed Miles walk onto the bridge and then stop looking around for something.

"Excuse me," Cloud said to Vincent and Tifa before walking over to Miles.

Tifa and Vincent continued to talk amongst themselves.

"Are you ready?" Miles asked Cloud as he approached. "I found a room that will serve our needs." Miles held up a black bag.

The aircraft was carrying a lot of passengers so the only room Miles could find was a large storage room with an empty shelf he could lay his supplies out on. They figured it was best to do it somewhere isolated so Cloud would not have to explain why Miles is taking a sample of his blood.

Miles placed his bag on the shelf and took out a sealed package with a syringe in it. He took out a rubber tourniquet and tied it around the upper part of Cloud's arm. He then used an alcohol swab to clean off the injection site on his forearm and opened the package with the sterilized syringe in it. He then stuck the syringe in Cloud's arm filling it.

"Easy as pie," Miles said as he covered the injection site with a cotton ball directing Cloud to put pressure on it. "I know a place in Corel where I have access to the equipment needed to examine the sample. When I have some free time I will take a look and notify you of the results."

He secured the vile of blood putting it in his bag and cleaned up his supplies.

"Thanks," Cloud told Miles before he left to go find Tifa.

It didn't take long for the airship to reach Corel. Since the work camp was located in the mountains next to the reactor the airship had no choice but to land in the valley nearby.

Everyone departed the airship and Cloud helped unloaded fenrir and the supplies. Then Cid and his crew took off back to Junon. Cloud couldn't take his motorcycle to the camp because it was in the mountains but he wanted to keep it nearby just in case he needed it.

As soon as they exited the airship the WRO peacekeepers headed straight to the worker camp to relieve their fellow peacekeepers currently guarding the camp.

What was once called North Corel was now called Corel and it had grown into a large city since Shinra was destroyed and people stopped using mako energy. Many cities went back to using coal so Corel was there to supply the demand and reek the benefits.

North Coral, which once consisted of tents and makeshift shacks, was now a bustling town full of multi-story buildings and houses. It was now larger than Kalm and growing thanks to the coal industry Barret helped promote as an alternative to mako.

With Barret's recent oil discovery and the plan to transform the mako reactor into an oil refinery Coral was going to become the petroleum powerhouse of the new world. Corel even had a booming tourist industry thanks to the gold saucer station and with a growing economy people had extra money to spend.

As Barret entered the town Tifa, Cloud and Vincent were surprised to see the huge welcoming he received. A town that just a few years ago regarded Barret with such hatred now welcomed him like a king returning to his castle. The WRO peacekeepers were equally welcomed being provided with free food when not on duty.

Upon entering the town Barret, after stopping to talk to all the people who came to greet him, headed towards the WRO office to get an update on the reactor project and recent attack. Miles fallowed Barret into the building while Cloud, Tifa and Vincent explored the town making sure to stay nearby.

The three were admiring an item kiosk across the street when Barret came out of the WRO building looking angry. Upon seeing Barret the three walk across the street to meet him.

"Two workers were killed last night and seven are missin'," Barret told the group. "We don't know if they were taken or ran off durin' the attack but probably taken. It woulda been a lot worse had the Turks not been there. They were passin' by in their chopper when they saw the creatures headin' towards the camp. They fought 'em off and stayed until Tseng and Elena arrived last night."

Barret looked visibly upset over the news. He viewed the people of Corel like family and to hear of them being killed or missing really bothered him. He vowed to seek revenge on whoever was behind this.

"We should head towards the camp," Vincent suggested and the rest agreed.

It was late afternoon and the train stopped running during dinner time so they had to travel by foot. The people of Corel utilized the Shinra train that Cid managed to stop before it crashed into North Corel years ago. It was now used to transport people and supplies to the reactor sight.

"Right," Barret nodded. "Miles says he has some stuff to do here so he's goin' to meet us later."

The four of them made their way towards the reactor. They walked along the train tracks and crossed the bridge towards the steps leading to the camp. To their left on the other side of the bridge they noticed an unoccupied Shinra helicopter meaning Tseng and Elena was still there.

The camp was located on the mountain top overlooking the reactor. It was the perfect location for the camp since it was close to the reactor and the train tracks. The land was flat and there was already a railing built along the edge of the cliff.

The camp consisted of multiple tents and temporary shelters for the shift workers. The majority of the workers in the camp were engineers, some general laborers, and various other specialized professionals hired to dismantle the reactor and extract any useless equipment.

Barret was lucky they managed to hire a few ex-shinra employees who had a working knowledge of reactors. The people who were considered essential workers would stay at the camp 24-hours rotating day and night shifts. The 'non-essential' workers would travel by train everyday bringing supplies and food for the camp inhabitants.

They were only a month into the project and haven't even started on the reactor. It took a few weeks to hook the reactor up to Corel's power grid and to set up backup generators since it was no longer able to run on mako. Corel itself was powered by coal and had a coal power plant located on the other side of the mountains where there was a water source. Many of the men and some women in the town either worked in the coal mines, in the power plant, or on this project adding to the booming economy.

Seeing Barret and the others enter the camp one of the workers ran up to them.

"Right on time boss. We just got the power on this morning. We sent some guys in there today to walk around the place and will brief you on what they found. Did you get the diagrams for the reactor?"

"Miles has 'em," Barret replied. "He said he will bring 'em by later to go over with everyone."

Barret looked around the camp and he did not like what he saw. There were tents and shelters damaged from the attack. All of the seriously injured people were rush to the Corel hospital but many of the workers that remained had bandages or visible injuries.

"Tell everyone to take the night off and rest. We'll start fresh in the morning." With that the worker nodded and left to go inform the others.

There were portable lights erected around the outside of the camp but in the center was a large fire and seats for people to relax.

Cloud and the others were just about to go sit by the fire when Tseng and Elena walked into the camp. Upon seeing the group the two Turks walk over towards them.

"We were just over by the reactor talking to one of the workers who was conducting the walkthrough," Tseng informed the group. "He said he heard noises coming from inside the reactor but they could not find the source."

The last inch of sun was setting behind the mountain so it was going to be dark if they decided to go take a look now. Luckily the reactor had power so if they decided to investigate they would not be doing it in complete darkness like in Fort Condor.

"What kind of noise?" Tifa asked.

"They said it sounded like a groaning noise and banging," Elena replied.

"Hopefully no one is hurt or trapped. Maybe it's the missing workers." Tifa wondered.

"We should check it out now," Barret told the group.

If it was the missing workers he wanted to go help them as soon as possible. Just as Barret finished speaking Miles walked into the camp with a backpack on. Seeing the group standing near the fire he walked over towards them.

"What's going on?" Miles asked seeing the look on everyone's faces.

"There are noises coming from the reactor but the workers couldn't find the source. We are going to go check it out." Tifa informed him.

Hearing that Miles took his backpack off and laid it on the ground opening it.

"Then I think I have something that might help you out." He pulled out the reactor plans and opened it up laying it on the ground. "I was examining the plans last night and here," he said pointing to a big open space at the bottom of the diagram. "There is a big empty room here that I can't figure out why it's there or what its purpose is. It appears the only way to access it inside the reactor is an elevator shaft located here," he pointed to a tunnel on the diagram located just above to empty room. "There also appears to be another tunnel in the back that leads to an access hatch outside. I think it might be those bay doors over there behind the reactor."

Miles looked over to the reactor lit up in the distance and pointed towards it. Everyone shifted their gaze from the map to the reactor to see what Miles was pointing at.

"You see that catwalk above the number 27 written over there? I think there is an opening at the end of the catwalk that leads to this room but I don't know where the controls are to open it so we need to find the elevator inside." Miles looked back down at the plans. "If the workers couldn't find the elevator inside its probably concealed but these plans should help us locate it."

Tseng reached into his pocket and handed Miles a little black transmitting device.

"Put this in your ear," he directed Miles. "You can walk us through the reactor from here. There's no point in all of us going and some parts of the reactor can get pretty tight."

Tseng didn't say it but he had a bad feeling about what could be in the reactor and Miles was the only one who didn't have any combat experience.

Miles took the device, switched it on and put it in his ear. He was curious to see what was in that room and wanted to go with them but he was not one to argue with a Turk.

"The reactor lights are on but you'll need flashlights to help get you there." Miles reached into his backpack and took out a few flashlights handing them to the others.

Tifa took a flashlight for herself and Cloud. The light from the fire was starting to bother Cloud's eyes and he could feel one of his headaches coming on. He was standing in the back of the group so nobody noticed him walk away from them towards the railing at the edge of cliff. The pain was starting to intensify so he took the vile Miles gave him out of his pocket, opened it, and drank the contents. It didn't taste very good but he could instantly feel his headache starting to go away.

Cloud took a minuet to lean against the rail and look around. He could see the reactor's lights glowing bright against the surrounding darkness. He glanced back to see everyone else still talking to Miles about the plan but suddenly something caught his eye in the direction of the reactor. He couldn't see anything against the night sky but he notice a big shadow pass in front of the lights of the reactor like a big bird circling it.

He was too far away to tell what it was exactly but he figured it must be some kind of flying monster. Then he saw it land in front of the reactor entrance and disappear inside. It almost looked human but it could fly and it looked like it had wings. He waited a few minutes to see if the creature was going to come back out but nothing happened.

Cloud was about to turn around and tell the others when he heard a noise coming from the reactor drawing his attention back. The noise sounded mechanical like one of the generators being turned on. A few seconds later he noticed the platform behind the reactor, which Miles pointed out earlier, start to open up revealing an empty void. Cloud then saw the human-like figure exit the reactor from where it entered and fly off into the night.

Cloud stood there gazing at the cavity that was just opened. Moments later he heard a yelling noise and multiple creatures came flying out of the cavity like they were coming from the pits of hell.

"Over here!" Cloud called out to the others.

Realizing Cloud was not with them they looked over in his direction and ran towards him.

"Looks like we have company," Cloud said as he reached for the sword strapped to his back. Cloud could hear everyone reach for their weapons as soon as they noticed the creatures.

The creatures circled around the reactor a few times but upon noticing the lights of the camp they came swarming towards them. Realizing he would have a greater advantage in the air Vincent transformed into Chaos and took off towards to creatures.

Miles, who was the only one unaware of Vincent's power, jumped a little when he witnessed Chaos appear next to him.

Barret took off towards the tents to warn the workers of the attack.

It was difficult for Cloud to see the creatures against the surrounding darkness so he couldn't tell how many there were. He could see flashes of lights in the distance followed by the sound of gunfire, he assumed it was Vincent shooting the creatures.

As they approached the camp Cloud was surprised to see the creatures were actually humans with a large wing coming out of their left side. Some of them had swords while others had guns.

Cloud jumped out of the way as one of the creatures stopped in midair to fire at him. He then leaped into the air with his sword raised above his head bringing it crashing down on the creature sending it hurling into the ground.

Cloud looked around to see the Turks, Barret and the Peacekeepers shooting at the flying creatures. He could tell they too were having difficulty trying to aim into the surrounding darkness. He looked around for Tifa but could not see her anywhere. Suddenly to his right a creature fell to the ground a few feet away from him unconscious followed by Tifa landing next to it. Cloud new Tifa could hold her own in any fight but he was relieved to see she was safe.

"Cloud, look out!" Tifa warned him.

He turned his head to see a creature flying towards him with its sword drawn. Cloud jumped up just as it was about to reach him causing the flying person to hit the ground hard. Cloud landed next to it impaling it with his sword.

Cloud looked into the darkness trying to see or hear for any more attackers circling the camp. For what he could tell it appeared as if there were no more flying nearby so he gazed around the camp to evaluate the situation.

He could see multiple creatures lying dead amongst the camp. It appeared the Turks and Barret had each taken out a few and the peacekeepers killed several.

"Everyone okay?" Cloud asked everyone looking around.

"What are these things?" Tifa asked looking down at one of the winged humans.

"Genesis copies," Tseng replied kneeling down to get a better look.

Their faces were all the same but their clothes were different. Most of them were wearing peacekeeper uniforms but there were two that were dressed differently.

"Do you think they are the missing WRO members Reeve was talking about?" Tifa asked.

"Looks that way," Barret replied looking at the Genesis copy next to him. If they really were WRO members Barret felt bad killing one of his own.

Realizing there was no more danger Miles and some of the workers come out from hiding and walked over towards them.

"I only count 10 Genesis copies," Elena commented. "Weren't there over 15 people confirmed missing from the WRO not to mention the ones who went missing last night?"

"I think I saw more than 20 flying around," Tifa added looking around the camp and then realized something important. "Where's Vincent?"

Realizing Vincent was not amongst them Cloud and the others looked around the camp but he was nowhere to be found.

"He transformed into Chaos and took off after the Genesis copies," Cloud responded.

"Hope he's ok," Tifa remarked. "We should go look for him. He could be injured..."

"The Genesis copies came from the reactor." Cloud commented. "Some of us should go look for him there."

"I should come with you," Miles told the others. "He might need medical attention."

Tifa, Cloud, Tseng, Elena and Miles went to look for Vincent while Barret stayed at the camp with the remaining workers and peacekeepers.

They decided to follow the train tracks towards the reactor using flashlights to find their way in the dark. They were debating if they should try to enter through the opening from where the creatures emerged but they didn't know exactly how far down it travelled so they decided to play it safe and try to find an alternative route first.

As they walked towards the reactor they would take turns calling out Vincent's name and would stop to listen for a response. It was eerily silent around Mt. Coral. As they approached the reactor the outside lights were so bright they no longer needed their flashlights.

When they entered the reactor Miles stopped to review the blueprints. The inside of the reactor was bright with yellow lights, cement walls and the ceiling above them covered in piping.

"It appears we need to turn left to find the control room. From there we should be able to reach the elevator shaft." Miles folded up the plans and put it in his backpack.

The group made their way towards the control room. They stepped through the portal into the control room which was much darker than the rest of the reactor. Inside it had three big control panels that were all light up in various colored lights and buttons, some blinking. Miles walked over towards the panels and slowly studied all three. He stopped at the middle panel and started pressing buttons. Suddenly a clicking noise is heard and a concealed door at the opposite end of the room opened. It was a big freight elevator so they all had room to fit inside.

Once inside the elevator they noticed a control panel on the wall requiring a swipe card or code to operate it. Everyone looked at Miles who shrugged not knowing the access code.

Tseng made his way through the group over to the control panel. He imputed a five digit code causing the elevator door close and start descending.

"Shinra executive override code," Tseng explained to the group. He could tell by the look on their faces they were wondering how he knew the code. Truth was, this was only his second time in this reactor and he was unaware of the elevator's existence until now.

It felt like almost a minuet before the elevator reached the bottom. They stepped out into a large dark room with blue lights glowing in the distance. If they didn't know they were underground they would have thought they were in a warehouse it was so open and empty. The group walked towards the blue glowing light only to come across several dozen metal mako chambers. Cloud recognized them as the mako pods similar to the ones in the Mt. Nibel reactor.

"This could be Hojo's doing," Tseng suggested. "He always had a habit of requesting additions to Shinra constructions so he could run his experiments. He was the one who got Shinra to put the pods in the Mt. Nibel reactor. I wouldn't be surprised if he was conducting experiments under this reactor before he died."

Many of pods had the doors opened and emptied of all the mako. They all proceeded to spread out and checked the windows of the closed pods to see if anyone or anything was inside; they were all empty.

Cloud walked around the room and it was void of anyone apart from them. Next to the pods was a metal table with straps and another table covered with empty vials and syringes.

"This must have been where the people were experimented on." Miles commented as he examined the table.

Tifa studied the opened pods with little pools of mako on the floor next to them.

"It appears that thirty-five genesis copies were released but we only took down ten. That means there must be more still out there."

Towards the back of the room there was a big aperture above them with light shining through it onto the floor. Cloud assumed this was the outside entrance he saw the Genesis copies escape from. He walked over to the light to see if he could find an easy way back up to the top.

As soon as Cloud stepped under the opening his PHS beeped. He took his phone out of his pocket and examined it. It only had one signal bar of reception and a voicemail message. Before he had a chance to check the message his phone started to ring.

"Hello," the blond said answering the phone. Noticing Cloud talking on the phone everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing to listen in. "We're on our way," Clouds said after a few seconds of silence. Clouds shut his phone and put it back in his pocket looking up at the others.

"It was Vincent," he informed the group. A sigh of relief could be heard from the two women. "He followed a group of Genesis copies towards Cosmo Canyon and needs our help."

"We should hurry," Elena told the group.

Cloud looked up at the long tunnel leading towards the surface.

"Tifa and I can probably jump up from here," he looked at Tifa. "If we run to Corel we could take fenrir and be in Cosmo canyon in an hour."

"We'll meet you there in the helicopter," Tseng told Cloud who nodded in approval.

Tseng, Elena and Miles walked back towards the elevator as Tifa walked over to Cloud.

"Ladies first," he said as he slightly kneeled in front of her cupping his hands together. Tifa put her foot in Cloud's hands jumping as he threw her up into the tunnel. He looked up to make sure she landed and then jumped following her up into the tunnel.

They proceeded to run towards the train tracks following them all the way to Corel. Once in Corel, Cloud retrieved his bike and they took off towards Cosmo Canyon. It didn't take long for the pair to reach the Canyon.

When they entered the canyon they witnessed lots of people outside running around gathering medical supplies and helping injured people. There were five dead Genesis copies lying on the ground and some of the homes looked like they were damaged.

Vincent was back to his normal self and assisting with healing the injured civilians. Upon seeing Cloud and Tifa, Vincent finished curing a young female and walked towards the two while the girl's friend tended to her.

"What happened here?" Cloud asked the ex-Turk.

"I followed eight of them here. Five of them started attacking the civilians while three of them breached Bugenhagen's house up top. I haven't had a chance to go see what damage they caused but I witnessed three of them fly off while I was protecting the citizens. They appeared to be very coordinated like it was a planned attacked. I noticed them flying off into the distance back towards Corel."

"I wonder what they were after…" Tifa asked looking around at all the injured people.

"I think I know," Cloud replied reaching into his pocket for his phone. "I'll let Barret know more Genesis copies might be heading his way. Hopefully they haven't left yet."

He presses a button on his phone and put it to his ear.

"Barret, we're with Vincent. He said he saw a group of Genesis copies heading back towards Corel. You and the others should just stay there and we'll be back soon." Cloud paused with the phone to his ear listening to Barret. Vincent and Tifa could see a worried look appear on his face. After a few seconds Cloud mumbled "ok" and hung up.

"What is it?" Tifa asked.

"Barret said Elena, Tseng and Miles already left in the helicopter but moments later he received a call from Miles saying the helicopter was under attack by Genesis copies then he lost contact. Barret hasn't been able to reach them since."

"Hopefully their okay," Tifa said worried.

"I'll go see if I can find them," Vincent said. "I can cover more land by air."

"We'll stay here in case they show up," Tifa mentioned looking around. "It looks like they need some help around here anyways."

With that Vincent transformed into chaos and took off towards Corel.

Tifa and Cloud spent most of the night and early morning tending to the injured. The people of Cosmo Canyon were very lucky that no one was killed and most only required a cure materia. The town's people were grateful that Vincent was there to prevent the Genesis copies from causing further damage and harm to them.

It was early afternoon before Cloud and Tifa had a chance to go up and assess the damage to Bugenhagen's, now Nanakin's, house. Nanakin was still in Edge with Yuffie and the others so shortly after they arrived in Cosmo Canyon Tifa called to let Nanakin know what happened and to tell him everyone was fine.

Just as Cloud feared the Genesis copies took all four huge materia. There was a hole blown right through the observatory where the materia were kept. Cloud wondered how they knew where to find it but on the other hand they did not go to great lengths to hide it from anyone. It was kept at the highest point at the top of Cosmo Canyon and if the Genesis copies were drawn to it in any way they could tell it was there.

The more important question was what they were going to do with it? Miles did talk about being able to generate power with it. He said just one piece could power a whole city but Cloud doubted they wanted it to help the world with its energy demands.

The sun was setting when Vincent returned with discouraging news. He said he found what appeared to be a crash site it the mountains just east of Nibelheim but by the time he arrived the helicopter looked like a smouldering pile of metal. He couldn't tell if there were any bodies inside and there was no sign of human activity around the crash site.

He said he scoured the area to see if maybe they managed to escape the aircraft before it went up in flames but couldn't find any trace of them. They couldn't help but notice how tired and worn out Vincent looked. He mentioned going back out tomorrow but he didn't sound optimistic.

Cloud and Tifa agreed to join him first thing in the morning and Cloud suggested taking the bike back towards Corel checking various places along the way.

To show their gratitude for their help the people of Cosmo Canyon provided the three with a big feast. Although they didn't feel like eating they tried to enjoy the food as to not appear rude. After Dinner they sat around the fire quietly remembering the three friends they feared were gone. They sat in silence until deciding to go to bed. The people of Cosmo Canyon offered them two free rooms to stay in for the night which they kindly accepted.

It took a while for Cloud to fall asleep. His mind was racing with so many questions after what transpired over the past few days. He was upset over what happened to his friends and he knew that this was not the end of these attacks.

Cloud looked over at Tifa who was sleeping soundly next to him. He cherished his friends, they were his family, and he swore to do everything in his power to protect them. As sleep overwhelmed him his dark thoughts started to consume his mind.

When Cloud opened his eyes he was no longer in Cosmo Canyon.

He couldn't remember falling asleep but he knew he must be sleeping because he was now fully dressed and was standing inside the Mt. Nibel reactor. But this didn't feel like one of his regular dreams. It felt different, like the time he talked to Areith when he had geo stigma.

Could this be her trying to communicate with him again? He didn't think so. With Aireth everything felt bright, warm and familiar. This felt dark and cold plus he didn't think she would bring him to a place full of bad memories.

Cloud examined the room, he was inside the main pod chamber standing at the top of the stairs in front of the Jenova room. He knew this was not a memory and he was starting to wonder if this was even a dream, but how did he get all the way here from Cosmo Canyon?

The last thing he remembered he was in bed with Tifa. Cloud peered inside the open door to the Jenova chamber to see a man standing with his back to him looking at the empty tank Jenova was once in.

Realizing he was not alone the man turned to face Cloud. The man had shoulder length brown hair and had one black wing coming out the left side of his back. Cloud assumed the man was Genesis since his face was the same as the copies he encountered in Coral. He was wearing a long red jacket and was holding a sword. Upon seeing Cloud, Genesis smiled.

"You probably don't remember me but we've met before," he informed Cloud.

Cloud went to reach for his sword only to discover it was not with him. Realizing what Cloud was reaching for Genesis' smile deepened.

"I guess you haven't realized this isn't real," Genesis notified him.

"So this is a dream," Cloud said softly to himself.

"Of sorts," Genesis replied with a shrug. "I must say, you have grown stronger since we last crossed paths. When we last met you were on the brink of death; luckily you had Zack to help you. You were very lucky to have such a good friend with you. If I were in Zack's shoes I wouldn't have risked my safety to help out such a weak specimen. That's probably what got him killed…"

Cloud knew Genesis was just trying to anger him. He was aware he was the reason Zack fell to the Shinra and he knew Zack forgave him. Zack risked his life to save Cloud that's why he made the promise to live both their lives.

"What do you want with me?" He asked the former SOLDIER.

"I need you out of my way," he frowned at Cloud. "You're interfering with my plans."

"The mako reactors?" Cloud questioned assuming that's what he was referring to.

Genesis laughed. "That's only a very small piece of the puzzle. Since my awakening I have managed to make myself stronger but not strong enough, yet. I needed you all out of the way so I can build my army."

Cloud looked blankly at the former 1st class SOLDIER. He had no clue what Genesis was referring to.

Genesis continued. "I was told Hojo's experiments were stronger physically but I always found them to be inferior mentally. Sephiroth became obsessed with the thoughts of mother and you are a perfect example of an inferior mind. Your mind was so fragile at the beginning Sephiroth was even able to take control of you like a puppet."

Cloud looked at Genesis with a surprised look wondering how he knew what happened years ago between himself and Sephiroth.

Realizing what Cloud was thinking Genesis continued. "You would be surprised what I can find out about you in your dreams. Although I must give you credit; you seem to have grown much stronger than anticipated. Your battle with Sephiroth has made you much stronger physically and mentally. My brother has not been as lucky. After his battle with your cloaked friend he was injured beyond repair."

"Weiss is still alive?" Cloud asked surprised.

Last time he saw Weiss he transformed into Omega and Cloud witnessed the creature destroyed with his own eyes by Vincent.

"If you want to call it living. Mentally he is alive but physically he is damaged. Not surprising considering his mind was taken over by a mad scientist then he merged with his brother Nero and destroyed as Omega. Only someone with project G genes can be exposed to such turmoil and survive. Simple Jenova cells won't help him like they helped me. He requires the cells of someone like him and now that you and your friends are out of the way I can go retrieve her."

Cloud knew exactly who he was referring to: Shelke.

"There are people with her that will stop you," Cloud told Genesis referring to Yuffie and Nanakin.

Genesis laughed. "You think the ninja and the beast will be a match for my copies? As we speak I have a swarm of copies heading towards Edge, Junon and Corel. But you have something more important to worry about."

Cloud gave Genesis a perplexed look wondering what he was referring to.

"I have someone very important to you…" Genesis smiled wickedly. "How poetic that the last time you see your childhood friend will be in your hometown."

Suddenly everything around Cloud went black.

"come get her…" was the last thing Cloud heard before waking up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Nibelheim**

Cloud shot up in bed fully awake and drenched in sweat.

He looked over at the empty spot next to him. Tifa was gone causing a wave of fear to rush over him. He knew he had to go to Nibelheim right away to get her.

He dressed himself and ran to Vincent's room to tell him about Shelke and Tifa. Vincent offered to go with him but Cloud told him it was more important that he go to Edge as soon as possible to help Shelke.

Vincent called Reeve to let them know what was going on and to try to find reinforcements to send to Corel and Edge. He tried to call Barret but his phone was off. They feared Corel was already under attack.

It was still dark when Cloud left Cosmo Canyon on fenrir. He went full speed into the night towards his hometown. It was still dark when he arrived in Nibelheim. The sky to the east was turning a lighter blue signaling sunrise was near. As he walked into the town he noticed that the houses looked deserted and unkempt with some front doors wide open like the inhabitants left in a hurry. The town well that once stood in the center of the small community was damaged and lying in pieces on the ground.

Cloud paused and gazed around the town not sure where he should start looking for Tifa. He was not expecting Nibelhiem to be a ghost town and he wondered what happened to all the people.

'Could this be Genesis' doing?' he thought to himself.

He wondered if he should check the houses for Tifa before heading to the Mt. Nibel reactor.

Before Cloud could decide on where to start looking the door to the Inn opened. Cloud reached for his sword in response but stopped when he saw a familiar face. Stepping out into the morning darkness Cloud could see an injured Miles with bandages around his head and right hand. Being mako infused Cloud had little trouble seeing in the darkness but he could tell Miles was having difficulty making out the blond.

"Miles, it's me Cloud," he called over to the scientist. "Are you alright?"

"Cloud?" Miles asks peering into the darkness trying to make him out.

He did not have his glasses on. Realizing it was a friend Miles began limping towards him. Apart from the bandages it was apparent he was injured; his face and arms were covered in dirt and scratches. His hair was matted and he walked with very little weight on his left foot.

"What happened to you?" Cloud asked. "We thought you were dead. Where is Tseng and Elena?"

"I don't know," Miles looked down ashamed. "When our helicopter was attacked by Genesis copies one of them blew through the cockpit and I fell out. Another tried to attack me in mid-air but I managed to grab on to him. I broke free closer to the ground and the fall knocked me unconscious. When I awoke it was almost nightfall and there was nobody around. I lost my phone so I wondered around until I came across this deserted town. I found some medical supplies in the Inn so I made a splint for my foot and fell asleep. I awoke when I heard your motorcycle."

Miles paused and gave Cloud a questionable look, "where are the others?"

A wave of fear rushed over Cloud's face.

"Genesis took Tifa and he has her somewhere around here. Did you check any of the houses?" He asked the scientist.

Miles shook his head no.

"Once I found the medical supplies in the Inn I didn't bother to look anywhere else. When I arrived it was dark and I was exhausted so I checked the Inn because it was the closest building and I figured it would have a bed and supplies. But when I entered the town I thought I saw a faint light coming from a basement window in that big house over there." Miles pointed towards the Shinra Mansion.

When Cloud looked over at the Mansion it looked dark and deserted but he figured he would check it out before travelling to the Mt. Nibel reactor. He would not be surprised if that was where Genesis took her. That mansion had always been a place of misfortune for him and he wondered why he didn't burn it down years ago.

"I'll come with you," Miles offered knowing what Cloud was thinking.

The two made their way towards the Shina Mansion. By the time they arrived at the gates the sunlight was just starting to break to the east and even in the dim light the manor looked dingy and condemned like always. As they entered the mansion Cloud was hit with the smell of moldy air.

"Where do we start looking?" Miles asked standing close to Cloud.

"Follow me," Cloud told Miles as he walked towards the staircase leading to the second floor.

Previous experiences in this mansion have taught him that if he was going to find Tifa it would be in the basement. Miles followed Cloud to the staircase leading to the dungeon like basement.

"What's down there?" Miles asked looking down into the darkness below.

"A Shinra laboratory," Cloud replied leading the way down the stairs.

Cloud was a little surprised that they haven't come across any of the creatures that usually overrun the old building. It's as if someone cleared out the manor of all monsters. When he reached the basement he traveled towards the laboratory slowly keeping an eye out for monsters. He could hear Miles footsteps close behind him and could tell he was nervous being in the dark dingy dungeon. Cloud could see a faint light glow from under the door of the laboratory.

Cloud was about to open to door but stopped to look back at Miles. "Be careful, Genesis or one of his copies could be inside."

"I will," Miles replied standing directly behind Cloud.

Cloud slowly opened the door with one hand while reaching for his sword with the other. He looked around to make sure nobody was there before opening the door further. He scanned the room but nobody was inside. Seeing no danger he released his grip from his sword.

The lights were on and the two glass pods in the corner were full of mako and glowed a bright green. Cloud knew those pods all too well and was surprised to see the broken pod that Zack was once kept in was now fixed. Gazing at the pods Cloud could make out dark figures floating inside the two pools of mako. The pod that was once broken now held a male with long spiky hair. The blond looked over to the pod he was once a prisoner in and could make out a female figure. Taking a step forward he recognized who it was.

"Tifa," Cloud yelled out but before he could take another step he a felt sharp stabbing pain in the back of his neck.

He looked back to see Miles grinning and holding an empty syringe. Before he could reach for his sword Cloud felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His legs became weak causing him to fall to the floor. Now on his hands and knees, and quickly losing strength, he looked up at Tifa floating lifeless in the tube of mako. He could feel the strength drain from his body causing his arms and legs to collapse from under him. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Miles standing over him smiling. Before Cloud could ask the young scientist why darkness fell over him.

When Cloud awoke his head felt like someone was squeezing it in vice grips. He was severely dehydrated and his eyes was throbbing before he even opened them. His body ached and his limbs were numb. When he attempted to open his eyes the light from the room made the pain worse. He tried to move his arms and realized his hands were chained above his head. The sound of his chains moving signaled he was awake.

"It's about time you woke up," Cloud could hear Miles say from the other side of the room.

Cloud forced his eyes to open ignoring the pain. Everything was blurry at first but cleared up after a few seconds. He was sitting on the floor of the laboratory with his hands chained to the brick wall between the entrance to the laboratory and a bookcase. He looked around and could see Miles half-sitting on the corner of the desk looking down at him. He could only partially see the two mako chambers behind the desk but they appeared empty and no longer glowing with mako.

"What did you do with Tifa?" Cloud snapped furiously.

He struggled trying to pull his chains out from the wall but was still too weak. His head felt like it was still swimming and his body continued to throb with pain. Even if he could get out of the chains he wasn't even sure if he would be able to walk.

Watching Cloud trying to break free Miles smiled.

"I pumped enough tranquilizer into you to knock out three midgar zoloms," he informed his captive. "It will be a while yet before you can even walk let alone rip those chains out of the wall."

Realizing he was right Cloud stopped struggling and glared up at Miles.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "What do you want with Tifa? Where is she?"

Miles paused and smiled again at Cloud. He sat up from the desk and took a step towards Cloud folding his arms.

"I must admit she was not part of my original plan." The scientist turned away from the captive and walked towards the empty pods. He placed one hand on the empty pod Tifa was in looking at his reflection in the glass. Cloud noticed that he no longer walked with a limp.

"I really thought being back here would jog your memory." Miles sighed. "But then again you were severely poisoned. I was just promoted from the materia department to Hojo's assistant at the time and my first assignment was to oversee his project in this laboratory while he was attending a meeting in Midgar."

Miles turned around to look back at Cloud.

"You know it's funny," he laughed. "At first I thought you two were failures left over from his reunion experiment. It wasn't until I read his notes I realized that he had big plans for you two. My task was simple; make sure you two were fed and help him with the last stage of his experiment when he returned."

Miles then frowned at Cloud taking a step towards him. "But then your friend had to go and ruin everything. He was the reason I lost the position and lost my only chance to work with the great Hojo."

Although he couldn't actually remember the event Cloud knew what Miles was referring to. Miles must have been the scientist Zack attacked when they escaped the mansion after being held captive for four years.

"What does this have to do with Tifa?" Cloud snapped at Miles.

Sensing Cloud's frustration Miles smiled again.

"My original plan was to capture you and kill you." He walked over to Cloud kneeling down in front of him so their faces were inches apart. "But once you hinted about Tifa's condition I realized that she has so much potential and what a better way to get back at you than to make you watch as I help her reach that potential. You don't want her to suffer the same fate as past G and S specimens, do you? Tifa and your child are going to need all the help they can get."

Hearing him talk about Tifa and his unborn child like some science experiment enraged him. Cloud struggled with his chains trying to break free but was still too weak. He hadn't felt this kind of rage since Sephiroth killed Aeirth.

Seeing Cloud's anger made Miles laugh. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulled out his PHS.

"Sorry I lied about losing my phone."

He pressed the button on the side turning it on then flipped the device open examining the screen and smiled.

"Those Turks always think they are smarter than everyone else," he mumbled to himself and looked back at Cloud before closing his phone. "Well it looks like it's time for me to leave."

He laid the phone down on the desk and walked towards the door.

"I'll be sure to say 'Hi' to Tifa for you." He told Cloud before leaving the room.

With Miles gone Cloud continued to struggle in an attempt to free himself. He tried pulling his hands through the cuffs but they were too tight. He could feel blood dripping down his arms from all the struggling and rubbing around his wrists. He knew there was nothing he could do until his strength returned but continued to struggle anyways hoping to find a defect in his restraints. He wondered how long he was unconscious for. He knew it must have been over a day for Miles to have enough time to clear out Tifa and the other person. He couldn't stop thinking about Tifa and what Miles was doing to her. He wondered where he could have taken her.

Cloud sat alone in the room waiting for his strength to return. He didn't know how much time had passed but it felt like hours.

He stopped struggling when he heard a faint noise. It sounded like footsteps outside slowly walking towards him. The footsteps stop short of the door and there was a pause like the person on the other side was stopping to listen for anyone inside.

Not knowing who it was Cloud didn't make a noise as to not draw attention to himself. Cloud heard a click and looked to his right to see the doorknob turn and the door slowly open. He recognized the dark suit and red haired figure that walked into the room.

"Reno," Cloud called out to the Turk.

Hearing his voice Reno looked down at him.

"Cloud!" He said surprised to see the blond chained to the wall next to him.

The Turk took out his electro-mag rod and smashed Cloud's restrains setting him free.

Stiff and sore Cloud slowly lowered his arms in front of him with his hands still shackled. Seeing him struggle Reno kneeled down next to Cloud and pulled out two lock-pics from his inside jacket pocket and started to pick the locks on Cloud's shackles. It didn't take long for Reno to unlock them setting him free.

Cloud placed his hands on the floor and tried to push himself up using the wall he was leaning on as support. His legs were wobbly and almost collapsed from under him still weak from the tranquilizers. Seeing Cloud was having trouble standing Reno stood up taking hold of Cloud's arm.

"What happened to you man?" Reno asked. "Everyone was starting to think you were dead…"

"How long have I been gone?" Could asked.

"At least 4 days," Reno explained. "A lot has happened since you disappeared. Tseng and Elena managed to contact us after their helicopter crashed so we picked them up and took them to Junon."

Reno then proceeded to fill him in on everything that happened while he was imprisoned. After they rescued their fellow Turks they received a call informing them that Edge and Corel were under attack so Reeve sent fighters to go help Corel while they went to Edge to help Vincent. By the time they arrived, Edge was damaged and there were a lot of casualties. After the attack Vincent filled them on Genesis' plan but they discovered that the Genesis' copies managed to capture Shelke and Yuffie. Nanakin took the children to safety while the two girls fought off the creatures.

The Turks took Vincent and the others as far as Junon so they could gather supplies and looked for their comrades. By that time Cloud and Tifa had been missing for a three days and Vincent told everyone about Genesis taking Tifa and Cloud going to the Mt. Nebil reactor to look for her. They went to the reactor and discovered that someone turned the power back on but nobody was there.

"We were just leaving the reactor to come here when Miles' tracking devise was reactivated leading us to this dump." Reno informed Cloud while holding up the phone Miles left on the desk.

"Why were you tracking Miles?" Cloud asked. "He's the one who chained me up and he has Tifa."

Thinking about Miles and Tifa was starting to make him angry again but right now he was using all his strength to focus on standing.

Reno smirked.

"It was Tseng's idea to put a tracking devise in his phone," he explained. "We have a saying in the Turks 'never trust a Shinra Scientist.' I guess Tseng was right. I guess Rude owes him 10 gil."

"I think Miles knew you were coming," Cloud explained. "He moved Tifa somewhere, I need to find her."

"She might be with Shelke and Yuffie," Reno suggested. "The others looked everywhere but they don't know where the copies took them."

"Miles needs a laboratory," Cloud thought out loud. "Do you know any other Shinra laboratories that are still operational?"

Reno paused to think.

"Well the science department had a big budget. Almost all of Shinra's properties had a laboratory or some kind of research facility in it. Let's get back to the helicopter, the director might know which laboratories are still functional."

Reno looked around the room and spotted Cloud's sword leaning against a bookcase. He walked over to retrieve it for his injured friend but the weight of the sword stopped him in his tracks.

"Shit man, you carry this thing around with you?" he commented.

With a little extra effort he swung the sword onto his shoulder and walked back over to Cloud. The two left the basement with Reno assisting the weakened Cloud.

It was daylight when they exited the manor. Reno stopped at the entrance and looked around.

"Yo Rude," he called out.

To the left they could hear something moving in the bushes. A few seconds later Rude stepped out brushing himself off. He looked a little surprised to see Cloud with Reno.

"The choppers out back," Reno told Cloud and all three of them walk towards the back of the mansion.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - **Modehiem outskirts

As they approached Junon in the aircraft Cloud could see that the WRO headquarters and surrounding area suffered the most damage. The WRO building had extensive damage to the outside and even had a huge hole blown through the 3rd floor.

"They focused their attack on the headquarters," Reno told Cloud knowing what he was thinking. "Some of them infiltrated the building and starting massacring people. It was a targeted attack but we don't know what they were after. "

After landing the three made their way to the WRO headquarters to meet up with the others. Barret, Vincent, Cid, Reeve, Elena and Tseng were in the conference room trying to plan their next course of action when Cloud and the two Turks arrived. They were all happy to see Cloud was alive but their joy was not long-lived after he informed his friends about Tifa and Miles.

After hearing Cloud's story Reeve felt bad for allowing Miles to be part of WRO and the mission.

"I did an extensive background check and there was no evidence that he ever worked under Hojo," the commissioner explained.

It was common practice for the WRO to hire former Shinra employees as many were not bad people. Most were just ordinary people trying to earn a living but Reeve was cautious when hiring people associated with the Science and SOLDIER departments since Shinra scientists were known for being a little crazy. Miles' employment record indicated that he had a science background but only ever worked in the materia room.

Cloud proceeded to fill the others in on his conversation with Genesis' and what Miles said to him in the Shinra Manor basement. Based on the information they had they couldn't tell how Genesis and Miles were even connected other than they were obviously working together.

Then Cloud remembered that Miles had another person with him in one of the mako chambers in the mansion basement. He wondered if that other body was Weiss and Miles was helping Genesis revive him.

"They need access to a laboratory and mako to complete their plan," Cloud informed the group. He looked over at Reeve and then at Tseng. "Do you know of any reactors or laboratories they can access?" he asked the ex-Shinra executives.

"The only reactors I am aware of, that we haven't destroyed already, are the Corel, Junon and Mt. Nible reactors and we checked them all when you and Tifa went missing." Reeve informed the blond.

Reeve looked towards the Turk leader to see if he had any information to add but he appeared deep in thought. Realizing everyone was looking at him Tseng began to speak.

"There was a mako excavation facility near Modehiem but it was shut down over a decade ago. Last I heard it was destroyed after an incident involving Genesis and Hollander." Tseng explained to them.

Most of the people in the room had never heard of Modehiem because the small town was abandoned years ago and was located in an isolated area up north.

"That's the thing about Shinra," Reeve explained. "You shouldn't trust anything you read or hear unless you've seen it with your own eyes."

Reeve had never heard of the town either and had he known about the possibility of a mako excavation facility existing he would have sent a team up north to check it out and destroy it if it was still standing. He was surprised Rufus never said anything to him about it but it was possible that Rufus was also unaware of its existence.

"Then lets pack up and go see for ourselves," Cid told the group eager to finally do something to help his friends.

With that they all proceeded to gather supplies and board the Shera.

* * *

When Yuffie finally gained consciousness she was cold and her head hurt. The last thing she remembered was struggling with this flying man then being hit over the head with his gun. She tried to move but her hands were shackled to the wall in a dark cold room. She had no idea where she was but it felt like she was either in a freezer or somewhere up north. It didn't help she was wearing a tank top and shorts.

She looked around and could tell she was in a very dark open room. She could just make out a faint glowing green light off in the distance. She struggled with her shackles to test their strength but was careful not to make too much noise; she did not want to alert anyone nearby. Luckily being a stealthy ninja her restraints were easy to slip out of.

Once she was able to free herself she surveyed the room. She could see a door to her right which she assumed would lead to a way out. She was about to walk towards the door when she heard the echoes of people talking coming from the other side of the large room. It sounded like it was coming from the direction of the glowing light.

Yuffie's curiosity got the best of her and she slowly walked towards the noise keeping an eye out for any trouble. As she walked towards the light she could see row upon row of glass mako pods causing the eerie glow. The ones in the back closer to her were dark and empty with the first few rows of pods full of mako producing the light.

She used the dark empty pods as cover as she made her way towards the noise until she was able to make out what was being said. As soon as she was within earshot she stood behind a pod and listened.

"It's been days since we transferred him here and you haven't even started yet," she heard one voice say.

"These things take time," she heard a familiar voice respond. "I wanted to make sure she was as strong as possible. If a blood transfusion won't help regenerate him then we will use her body as a host as a last resort."

Curious she peeked around the empty mako pod to see if she could see who was talking. She peered out from the row of pods to see a bright white light shining down from the ceiling onto twin metal tables. On one table she could see a guy with long spiky hair and on the other table she could see Shelke.

There was a long plastic tube full of what looked like blood connecting the two lifeless bodies. She jumped back behind the pod when she noticed one of the men walk in front of the table obstructing her view of Shelke.

"And what do you plan to do with her?" One man asked.

Yuffie peeked around again to see a man facing her direction gazing into a pod in the front row. Yuffie jumped back behind her cover hoping he didn't see her since he was looking in her direction. The man looked exactly like the people who attacked Edge.

"She is going to be very useful," the familiar voice told the winged man. "Consider it payment for showing you how to make copies using monsters like Angeal."

"And just because we know how to make copies using monsters now doesn't mean you should go around trying to turn every monster you find. Plus I though the materia that was retrieved from Cosmo Canyon was your payment," the winged man replied starting to sound a little annoyed.

"And I secured you a sample of Cloud's blood. Don't you need it to cure your degradation? You're welcome," the other man snapped at the winged man. He was starting to sound very irritated.

"You allowed him to live; that was not part of our deal. You know he's not going to stop until he finds her." The winged man gestured to the pod he was looking in earlier.

Listening to the freaky man Yuffie covered her mouth making sure not to let out a noise. She wasn't certain but she feared Tifa was in that pod.

"You'll agree with me once you see what I have planned for her," the man responded calming down a little. "I have already completed the first stage of my plan, now all we have to do is wait."

Yuffie peaked around the pod again to see if she could get a view of the man with the familiar voice. When she looked around the winged man was no longer obstructing her view. She could just make out the other figure now standing over Shelke's lifeless body. She tried focusing and could see the guy's clothes in the light but he was looking down so she couldn't make out his face. He was wearing a white lab coat and had short brown hair. Then he looked up and she realized it was Miles' voice she recognized.

'That little creep,' Yuffie said to herself furious at Miles' betrayal.

She wondered if the others knew about Miles and his plan. The winged man was pacing in front of the tables with his hands clasped behind his back like he was anxious or nervous.

"If he shows up and jeopardizes his recovery," the winged man threatened Miles, "you will live to regret it."

"Don't worry," Miles assured the man. "I activated it. Part of me actually hopes he shows up; I am curious to see the results."

"You're too confident," the winged man informed the scientist. "Where is the blood sample you took from Cloud anyways?" he asked.

"Don't worry, it's safely aboard the airship. I will give it to you once you have finished your assignment."

Yuffie figured she heard enough. She knew she would not be able to stop the winged man by herself since she did not have her weapon with her but she could try to warn the others. She reached into her pocket to retrieve her cell phone but when she opened it there was no signal.

'Shit,' she thought to herself. 'What to do next?' The only thing she could think of was to try to find a way out of here and hopefully her phone would have a signal outside.

She carefully made her way towards the exit she located earlier and into a long hallway. She kept an eye out for monsters or any other enemies but the corridors seemed to be empty. She made her way through the dark hallways with only a few ceiling lights lighting the way. She noticed that it was getting colder the further she travelled so she assumed she was heading towards the exit. By this point she knew she was somewhere up north. The last time she felt cold like this she was travelling with her friends trying to track down Sephiroth in the Northern Creator.

After wondering around for a few minutes she was finally able to find a door at the end of a hallway with a sign marked 'exit' above it. She pushed on the door and opened it only to find herself in the middle of a freaking snow storm and up to her knees in snow.

"Well this sucks," she said out loud while reaching for her phone. She looked only to discover that it still had no signal. "This is not my day," she complained to herself as she closed her phone.

Then for some reason she noticed the shadow of something above her reflect off of the blowing snow. She looked up to see dozens of those winged people flying above her circling the structure she emerged from.

"I guess I spoke to soon," she told herself gazing up at the creatures hoping none of them noticed her.

Suddenly one of them must have spotted her because she heard a loud sound come from above and the creatures began to fly in unison towards her. As soon as one dove down the rest followed prompting her to run as fast as she could through the deep snow. Luckily she was a fast runner but she knew she could not outrun them for very long. Being able to fly gave them an advantage.

She looked back through the blowing snow and could see them quickly gaining on her. Suddenly off in the distance she could hear the sound of a helicopter. It seemed like they heard it too because half of them suddenly took off.

Yuffie looked back again to see a helicopter hovering next to the building she exited from. The chopper was now being bombarded by the flying people and only a few were still chasing her. They must have sensed that the helicopter was more of a threat.

She spotted the Shinra logo on the chopper and knew it was her friends. She could see a few people jump from it while others held off the monsters with guns from the chopper.

Yuffie did not have much time to see her friends in action before they were surrounded and swarmed by the flying men. She looked around and realized she too was surrounded by four of them with no weapon to defend herself with.

One of the Genesis copies raised his gun to take aim at the young ninja when suddenly she heard a loud bang followed by the man dropping to the ground dead. Behind him stood Rude pointing a gun with Reno standing next to him holding his electro-mag rod.

Seeing their companion fall to the ground dead two of the copies took off towards the two Turks while the remaining one rushed Yuffie with his sword held high. Yuffie was able to dodge the attack and deliver a swift kick to the face. Before her attacker had a chance to retaliate Reno was behind him delivered a blow to the back of its head with his rod knocking him unconscious.

"Thanks," the young ninja said to the red haired Turk. "Where's Cloud?" she asked the two Turks instantly. After the conversation she heard inside she had to get to Cloud quickly before he reached Miles.

"We just dropped him off at the emergency exit in the back," Rude explained walking up towards Yuffie and Reno. "We're the distraction while he sneaks in."

"No, it's a trap! They are expecting him!" she warned the two.

Hearing that Reno looked around.

"Well we're not going in that way," he said motioning to the chaos going on near the exit Yuffie escaped from.

By this time the helicopter was hovering high in the sky with Elena and Reeve hanging out of opposite sides shooting at the flying Genesis copies with assault rifles. While Vincent, Barret and Cid were on the ground fighting the majority of them.

"This way," Reno told Rude and Yuffie running towards their helicopter parked behind a hanger next to the main facility.

"How many of these things do you have?" Yuffie asked the redhead as they approached the helicopter.

Over the past few years she had seen these two Turks destroy their share of helicopters and they never seem to run out. She figured with the fall of Shinra they would have a limited supply.

Reno smirked but decided not to answer her. The truth was that they have had a few disciplinary meetings with the director and Rufus over their 'bad luck' with all the helicopters. Part of him was actually a little relieved that they were not involved in the most recent helicopter crash last week.

The three entered the chopper and took off towards the back of the main facility where they dropped Cloud off. Hopefully they could catch up with him before it was too late.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8** \- Modehiem outskirts pt. 2

Despite being trapped inside a mako pod Tifa knew everything that going on around her. Prior to becoming Miles' prisoner the last thing she remembered was sleeping next to Cloud in Cosmo Canyon and then suddenly she was inside this mako chamber.

Around two days ago she regained consciousness but her body was still sedated. She was now able to see everything going on around her and could hear their muffled voices. She wondered if Miles did this on purpose.

She witnessed Miles inject Genesis with Jenova cells and assumed he did the same to her when she was unconscious. Listening to Miles she learned that he managed to retrieve some Jenova cells from Hojo's laboratory before the fall of Shinra and preserved it to use in his experiments.

Words could not describe the anger she felt towards him for what he exposed her and her unborn child to. She didn't know exactly what he did to her but she could tell he did something because she felt different.

Since she regained consciousness she had been using every ounce of strength to try to fight the paralysis and free herself. Luckily over the last day she could feel herself growing stronger and mustering all her strength she was now able to slightly move her fingers. She knew it would not be long before she would be able to gain control of her entire body.

Right now she could see Miles standing over Weiss taking a tube out of his arm. He proceeded to inject the unconscious man with something then turned to Shelke taking the tube out of her arm. Tifa was relieved to see that she was still breathing meaning Miles' procedure did not kill her.

Genesis was standing a few feet away from the table watching Miles work. From what she could hear she did not think that they trusted each other and they seemed to argue a lot.

Tifa switched her gaze back to Miles who was standing over Weiss. She noticed that he was now awake and looking up at Miles. Seeing Weiss awake Genesis took a few steps closer to him while Miles turned towards his table of supplies behind them.

"You're awake, how do you feel?" Genesis asked Weiss.

"Like a new man." Weiss smiled looking over at the unconscious Shelke lying on the table next to him.

With the way he was looking at her Tifa feared he was going to hurt her.

Suddenly Genesis turned his attention to a computer monitor located on a table next to some of Miles' equipment. It was hard for Tifa to make out but it looked like the monitor was for a security camera outside and there was something going on out there. Noticing what Genesis was looking at Weiss shifted his attention away from the girl.

"What is it brother?" Weiss asks.

"It looks like we have company," Genesis explained. "Do you feel up for a fight?" he asked Weiss.

Weiss smiled.

"Do you have my swords?" he asked.

Genesis smiled back and nodded yes. Then he looked closer at the monitor.

"It looks like your old friend is out front waiting for you," he explained motioning to the screen with the image to Vincent fighting the Genesis copies outside with the others.

"I guess that leaves Cloud to me." Genesis looked over at Miles.

"Take this," Miles said as he passed Genesis some kind of small devise, "and remember what I told you."

Although the sounds around her were muffled she knew what Miles did to Cloud when he was held captive in that basement. She learned that years ago Cloud and Zack were experimented on by Hojo as part of his reunion theory. Hojo hypothesized that all Jenova cells separated from her body will be drawn back to her. After the Nibelhiem incident Hojo took the surviving villagers and injected them with Jenova cells to test one part of his theory.

Tifa knew that Hojo's theory was right because when they were chasing down Sephiroth, a few years later, they came across hooded figures near the Northern Creator and in Nibelhiem who had numbered tattoos and were obsessed with the reunion. Tifa assumed these were the people who Hojo experimented on and were instinctively drawn to Sephiroth and Jenova.

Hojo also hypothesized that Jenova was able to control weaker beings that possessed her cells and he also believed that stronger beings with Jenova cells could control the weaker beings. Hojo used this premise for his experiment on Cloud and Zack. His goal was to create beings as strong as Sephiroth but were also under his control. He proceeded to make them stronger physically using Mako and Jenova cells but he installed a chip in their brains that inhibited part of their mind allowing them to be easily controlled. This was the reason Hojo injected himself with Jenova cells because his plan was to control Cloud and Zack as his own personal army.

Tifa wondered if this was how Sephiroth took control of Cloud and made Cloud give him the black materia years ago. This would have explained why Cloud had an identity crisis when she first ran into him in Midgar and why he was so easily manipulated by Sephiroth up until she helped him find his real self in the lifestream.

The device that Tifa saw Miles hand Genesis was a failsafe switch Miles created. If Cloud became strong enough to overcome Genesis' control when activated, which Miles predicted might happen, the switch will send a signal to Hojo's microchip leaving him incapacitated.

Tifa knew that Cloud was nearby and she was worried. Cloud had no idea what they had planned for him. Her mind began to race; she wished there was a way she could warn him.

She could feel herself becoming stronger and thinking about Cloud was helping. Slowly she was gaining more control of her body and she was now able to move most of her arms. She knew it would not be long before she would be able to free herself.

Miles must have noticed her move a little because he looked over and proceeded to walk towards Tifa's pod examining it. Tifa stayed motionless trying not to alert her captors to her newfound ability.

"What is it?" Genesis asked realizing something caught Miles' attention.

Miles examined the pod taping it with his finger to see if it would stir a reaction. Nothing happened.

"Nothing," Miles responded, "you two should get going. Cloud should be here soon."

Miles suspected that Cloud would not waist his time fighting the Genesis copies like the others. He most likely found another way in and should be nearby.

Weiss proceeded to head towards the others while Genesis waited nearby for Cloud to arrive.

* * *

When Cloud entered the reactor he was surprised to find the place empty. It was dimly lit and full of long maze like corridors. He raced down the hallways eager to find Tifa and Shelke. He was still feeling weak from the tranquilizers but he pushed through with all of his strength. For the first time in years his sword was feeling heavy on his back but at least his adrenalin was giving him some extra strength.

He wondered the corridors guessing on which way to go. He finally turned a corner leading to another hallway but at the end of this hallway was an opening with a pitch black room. He was about to run towards the room when someone emerged from it.

Genesis walked out into the dimly lit hallway holding a sword. Cloud could see that he was holding something in his hand but couldn't make out what.

Cloud reached for his sword ready to fight. He knew he had to get through Genesis in order to reach Tifa. He was still a little weak and he had to assume Genesis knew this. He knew this was going to be a tough battle and all he could do was keep thinking about Tifa for motivation to fight with all of the strength he had left. Without saying a word Cloud rushed the brown haired ex-SOLDIER.

Genesis just stood there as Cloud ran towards him with his sword raised. Suddenly his head started to hurt but he tried to ignore it. This was not a good time to be getting one of his headaches, he thought to himself.

He was just a few feet away from Genesis when the pain in his head intensified and something caused him to stop in his tracks. He stood in front of his foe with his sword still raised but unable to move his legs. He tried to swing his sword to see if he could hit Genesis but he was a foot short. He looked at Genesis who just stood there staring at him with an evil grin on his face.

"What did you do to me?" Cloud asked the ex-SOLDIER confused and angry.

He struggled with all his might trying to move his feet. He wondered if this was a side effect of the tranquilizer Miles gave him.

Genesis laughed. He was enjoying every minute of this.

"Stop resisting, I can control your every move." Genesis made Cloud drop his sword to the ground. "Now kneel before me," he ordered Cloud as he forced the blond onto his hands and knees.

Cloud was struggling the whole time but it wasn't helping. The last time he felt like this he almost struck Aerith with his sword when she was praying in front of him in the city of the Ancients.

'How was Genesis able to control him like this?' he thought to himself.

"Fight all you want but there is nothing you can do now. As we speak your friends are being introduced to my new and improved brother along with more of my copies and there is nothing you can do about it."

He took a step towards Cloud who was still on his hands and knees struggling to keep himself up.

"And let's not forget your pretty little girlfriend," Genesis stopped and kneeled one knee on the ground bringing his face close to Cloud's ear. "You won't recognize her when we're through with her," he provoked the blond.

That comment caused a wave of fury to pass through Cloud's whole body. Thinking about what they were doing to Tifa caused him to become more enraged and that in turn gave him more strength. He knew if he concentrated enough he would be able to overcome Genesis control over him. It was just like when Sephiroth had control over him years ago. Overtime he slowly learned how to fight off Sephiroth's control over him and he is a much stronger version of the person he was back then.

Focusing all his strength Cloud was able to gain control of his right hand sliding it over to his sword lying on the ground next to him. As soon as he had a grip of the handle he mustered every last ounce of strength he had left and swung his sword at Genesis who jumped back dogging the attack except the tip Cloud's sword just managed to graze Genesis' right cheek.

This caused Cloud to gain back full control of his body and he proceeded to relentlessly attack his enemy. Genesis unsheathed his sword and was able to counter Cloud's every blow as he was bombarded by the young blond.

Genesis knew he hit a nerve and enraged Cloud but that was exactly what he was trying to do. Cloud had to work extra hard trying to mentally block Genesis while delivering blow after blow. Luckily the more Cloud fought it the easier it became.

The thought of Tifa allowed him to tap into a strength he never knew he had. He had not felt this empowered since the last time he fought the reincarnated Sephiroth with a little motivation from the spirit of his friend Zack.

'I got this,' Cloud thought to himself leaping up into the air and delivering another blow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9** – Modehiem outskirts Pt. 3

Reno, Rude and Yuffie were running down the corridors with Yuffie in the lead followed by the two Turks. The corridors were empty, dark and maze like. Yuffie did not know which way to go so she guessed but it was starting to feel like they were going in circles.

Up ahead of them the hallway split in two like a 'T' and something was telling her to turn left. She was about to turn the corner when someone pulled her back just before a sword swung down missing her.

With both feet off the ground she looked up to see Rude standing behind her holding her up by her shirt. After he let her go she nodded thanks to the bald Turk and then looked ahead to see Weiss turn the corner facing them with his sword gun raised.

Before Weiss could do anything Rude had his gun out shooting forcing the Tsviet to jump back around the corner. Yuffie did not have a weapon and there was no way her martial arts skills would be any match in a gun fight. As if reading her mind Reno took a gun and handed it to her. It was not her ideal choice of weapon but she knew how to use one. She accepted it and released the safety.

'What I wouldn't give for some Materia right now,' she thought to herself as Weiss stuck his sword out around the corner and fired three rounds missing.

Instead of sticking around to fight the spiky haired man made a break down the other hallway to the right with the Yuffie and the Turks in pursuit. He was much faster than them and was able to doge every bullet Rude and Yuffie shot at him as if he was able to predict their shots.

Weiss fled through a door at the end of the hallway. It took a few seconds before the three reached the same door and entered. On the other side was another big warehouse like room with high ceilings and so dark they could not see the other end of the room. There were three hanging lights near them by the entrance but the rest of the room was pitched black. Weiss was nowhere to be found but they could hear noises off in the distance.

Reno looked behind him and located a light switch by the door so he flicked it with his nightstick. A few more lights flickered and turned on lighting up part of the room around them but the other side was still very dark. They could just make out the outline of Weiss standing amongst a large group of oddly shaped shadows.

As the lights started to warm up it grew a little brighter and the three were able to make out the other shapes. Weiss was surrounded by a large group of about 30 monsters all with Genesis faces. They were monsters that the three recognize from all over the planet, even some you could only find in the Shinra Mansion.

Reno turned around and tried to open the door but it was locked on their side.

"Shit," Reno said out loud as he turned around and flicked the switch on his rod charging it.

Weiss smiled wickedly at them and suddenly, as if they were under his control, all the monsters rush the three as they prepared themselves for the attack. The three separate themselves a little focusing on a small group of monsters while watching each other's backs.

Many of the monsters were ground monsters with a dozen flying ones. Rude and Yuffie proceeded to shoot at the flying monsters while Reno focused on the ground monsters with his electric nightstick.

Yuffie emptied a clip and called out to Reno who pulled a full clip out of his jacket pocket and threw it towards her. She caught it, loaded her gun and continued shooting.

The three were doing a good job keeping the monsters at bay considering how much they were outnumbered. After Rude ran out of ammo he threw his gun away and lifter his fists ready to fight with his hands; he preferred hand to hand combat anyways. Yuffie did the same once she ran out of ammo.

In the heat of battle Yuffie looked around and could not see Weiss anywhere. She assumed he was either hiding or used the commotion as a chance to escape. She looked over at Rude who seemed to be holding his own against three Ceaser monsters. She then proceeded to deliver a roundhouse kick to a Dorky Face.

Suddenly a ringing noise came from Reno's direction catching her attention. She looked over to see Reno reach into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. She couldn't help but wonder how his phone had a signal this far up north and made a mental note to herself to ask him who his service provider was when they were out of this mess.

"Yo," Reno said answering his phone with his right hand while electrocuting a cat like creature with his left. "It's about time!" he told the person on the phone, "we could really use some help." He paused listening. "Well how the hell should I know?" he said rudely while knocking the creature upside the head with his rod. "Why don't you try the GPS?!"

As soon as the redhead said that Yuffie could almost make out the sound of a woman yelling at him through the phone.

Reno moved the phone a few inches away from his ear until the yelling stopped. He paused and sighed.

"I'm sorry. We could REALLY use your help PLEASE," he said nicely then hung up the phone.

Yuffie looked over to Rude who also appeared to be listening in on Reno's conversation while fending off a monster. They were a little more than half way through the group at this point. Most of them were not very strong with the exception of some of the monsters from the Shinra Manor and the Mt. Nibel area.

Rude was surrounded by dead or unconscious monsters with one Ghirofelgo giving him a bit of trouble.

Almost as if sensing their progress Yuffie felt and heard a low rumble coming from across the room. She looked towards the noise that was coming from a dark corner of the warehouse. Peering into the darkness she could just make out a glowing pair of eyes that appeared to be moving. She then heard another low rumble followed by a loud roar that shook the ground.

As soon as she heard the noise she knew exactly what they were dealing with. She recognized the noise from travelling through the Mt. Nibel area with her friend's years ago. Before the echo of the roar could subside the beast stepped out into the light confirming what Yuffie feared: a dragon.

Noticing the dragon Reno and Rude stop fighting for a second a little surprised they missed such a huge creature hiding on the other side of the large room.

"Hurry up guys," Reno says to himself referring to his colleagues who were trying to track down their location in the helicopter.

Noticing the three humans fighting with the other monsters across the room the dragon let out a louder roar and extended out its monstrous wings as if it was casually stretching after a long nap. It then proceeded to walk towards the fighting group.

As it drew closer Yuffie noticed that this monster did not have a Genesis face like all the other monsters.

"Why the hell did they bring that thing here?" Reno asked.

It's like he was thinking the exact same thing as her. If they weren't planning on turning it into a Genesis copy why bother trapping it and bringing it all the way up north.

The last hand full of monsters continued attacking as if they didn't even notice a huge dragon casually walking towards them. The three were able to fend off the attacks but they were more concerned with the dragon who luckily did not seem to be in a rush to reach them.

Right when the dragon was half way across the room the three heard a large explosion causing the room to shake. Less than a second later they heard another boom but this time the ceiling closer to the dragon crumbled causing some of the rubble to hit the dragon drawing its attention.

Suddenly gunshots come flying through the hole hitting the dragon but did not appear to cause it any serious injury. The dragon looked up in the direction of the incoming bullets and roared in anger. It then proceeded to jump up through the hole and chase after its attacker.

A few seconds after the dragon left Barret and Cid came jumping down through the hole assisting the others with fighting the remaining monsters. After the last monster fell everyone could hear the sound of gunfire outside. It was hard to tell by the sound if they were making any progress fighting the dragon.

"We should try to help them," Yuffie said looking at her friends.

There must be another door around here somewhere she assumed thinking about how Weiss must have escaped. They all ran to the other side of the warehouse and found an exit leading outside.

Outside the helicopter was hovering in the air dodging the dragon's attacks while Reeve and Elena bombarded the creature with machine gun bullets. The bullets appeared to have no effect on the dragon's skin like its scales were made of metal. Every time the dragon took a dive the helicopter would move just in time, avoiding its attacks. Reno was impressed with Tseng's piloting skills since the redhead was the one who usually did all the flying.

Barret then started to shoot at the dragon from the ground drawing its attention. The two in the helicopter then continued to shoot at it from behind angering the dragon because it did not know who to attack.

The dragon appeared to focus on Barret and looked like it was about to dive towards him so the helicopter maneuvered closer and continued shooting. Suddenly the Dragon turned and swiped at the helicopter. Tseng almost moved in time but the dragon managed to hit one of the top propellers breaking it clean off.

The helicopter started to wobble midair and Tseng had no choice but to make an emergency landing. It was a rough land but he managed to touch ground without crashing. The three exited the helicopter and ran to meet the others by the warehouse. Realizing all its targets were on the ground the dragon looked down and started to prepare for a drive.

"What are we going to do?" Elena asked. "Guns aren't working."

Cid, who had been standing closest to the door casually smoking his cigarette, took one last drag of his smoke before speaking.

"I got this," he said flicking his smoke into the snowbank next to him and grabbed his spear.

He then proceeded to jump high up into the air and almost instantly, as the dragon approached the group, he came crashing down spear first on top of the dragons head, right through its eye and head. The dragon fell dead immediately crashing into the ground stopping just feet away from the group with Cid still on top of it. He then proceeded to pull his spear out from the dragon's head and walked over to the others like nothing happened.

"Wow…" Yuffie said as everyone else around her was speechless. "Soooo, does anyone else know where we gotta go to find Cloud and the others?" She asked the group.

"The front entrance to the facility is over there," Tseng replied pointing up towards the tallest structure a few buildings over. "I assume they would be keeping the prisoners in main building."

"Where's Vincent?" Yuffie asked looking around.

She finally realized he was not with the group when she last saw him he was fighting with Cid and Barret.

"He saw someone running from this building just when we arrived and took off after him," Elena replied. "They were running towards the main building so we might catch up with them."

"Must have been Weiss," Yuffie guessed out loud.

The group then proceeded to locate their friends.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**– Modehiem outskirts Pt. 4

Cloud was relentless in his attacks. Genesis was able to counter all his blows but was growing tried and could not get a strike in against the blond. Genesis knew he was not strong enough to defeat Cloud by himself.

It was a pity that Hojo's mind control experiment did not work on him, Genesis thought. Having this powerful specimen under his control would have made him invincible. Genesis was hoping he would not have to stoop to this level but he was growing tired and had no other choice.

After a series of strikes Cloud jumped back with his sword raised waiting to see if his opponent had enough.

Genesis took this opportunity to reach into his pocket and pull out the switch Miles gave him. He pressed the button holding it down. Instantly Cloud dropped his sword and fell to his knees holding his head in anguish.

Cloud have never felt a pain like this despite being impaled by a sword on more than one occasion. It felt as if something was ripping apart his brain and trying to escape his skull. Cloud could not take it anymore and for the first time in a long time he screamed in agony.

* * *

There was no doubt in Tifa's mind who that scream belonged to. Cloud was in trouble and she had to go help him. Instantly a wave of adrenalin rushed through her body giving her the energy and power she needed to escape her enclosure.

Miles looked up from his work to see Tifa move inside the mako chamber but before he could react the glass pod exploded causing shards of glass and mako to fly across the room. Miles shielded himself from the flying glass and before he even had a chance to look up Tifa rushed him grabbing him by the neck. She pushed him up against another pod pinning him so hard the glass cracked a little behind him. Miles gasped for air as Tifa tightened her grip on his neck.

As she choked Miles a sharp pain was starting to run from her head down through her body which she assumed was a reaction to the mako and adrenalin. Tifa used every ounce of strength to fight the pain and concentrated on hurting Miles.

"St…stop…he's killing him...Ki…kill Genesis before…too late." Miles barely managed to say as Tifa was crushing his throat.

She could still hear Cloud's screams in the background. Instantly Tifa released Miles by throwing him across the room like a ragdoll and raced towards the sound of Cloud's screams.

As she drew closer to the exit she could see Genesis standing over Cloud who was kneeling on the ground holding his head in pain. She was moving so fast Genesis didn't even hear her approach him. She rushed towards Genesis kicking him in the back sending him flying in the air over Cloud and rolling on the ground across the hallway but he caught himself landing on his feet.

The trigger he was holding dropped to the ground next to Tifa and Cloud. Seeing it Tifa walked over and crushed it with her foot. Cloud took a few seconds to compose himself before struggling to stand up.

Tifa walked over to help him and looked back towards Genesis to finish him off but he was nowhere to be seen. Part of her wanted to go track down Genesis but she ignored the nagging thought focusing on Cloud.

"Are you ok?" Tifa asked Cloud helping him up.

It has been a few days since they last seen each other and as soon as she touched him her feelings of anger instantly diminished.

"I'm fine," Cloud replied hugging Tifa tight. "How are you? What did he do to you?"

Tifa held him for a bit before answering.

"I'm fine," she told him.

She did not want to go into the details just yet; she knew it would upset him. Cloud put his hands on her arms trying to look her in the face to see if she was really okay. She was looking down at first but finally raised her head slowly so they were face to face. She looked into Cloud's eyes and she could see his expression change when he noticed the mako glow in her eyes. He didn't say anything but she knew this upset him.

"Where is he?" Cloud asked her tightening his grip on her arms.

Words could not describe how angry he was with the scientist. Tifa was not surprised at Cloud's reaction but she had never seen him look this angry at her.

"In the room with Shelke," she informed him.

Tifa and Cloud walk back into the room and over to the table Shelke was laying on. She was unconscious but breathing.

Tifa looked over in the direction she threw Miles but he was nowhere to be found. She looked around to see if there were any clues to Mile's whereabouts but most of his equipment was still there.

Realizing Miles had fled the scene Cloud walked over to Shelke and picked her up in his arms.

"Let's go," Cloud said softly to Tifa and turned to exit the room.

The three wandered the corridor maze on guard for a surprise attack from enemies. As they turned a corner both Tifa and Cloud could hear the distant sound of footsteps causing them to stop in their tracks.

Cloud gently placed the girl down on the ground propped up against the wall. He proceeded to reach for his sword while Tifa prepared herself for battle. As the footsteps drew closer they realized there were multiple people approaching. Cloud raised his sword ready to attack when suddenly some familiar faces turned the corner towards him.

"Cloud! Tifa!" Yuffie yelled and ran over to them while the rest of the group were happy to see they were alright. Yuffie stopped in her tracks as soon as she noticed Shelke propped up on the floor next to them still unconscious.

"Is she ok?" she asked kneeling down so she was face to face with her friend. "What did he do to you?" she asked her unconscious friend softly brushing some of her hair away from her face.

"She's alive but we need to get her to a doctor," Tifa told Yuffie seriously.

"Anyone know the way out of here?" Cloud asked the group. He gently picked up Shelke and the group proceeded to show Cloud and Tifa the way out.

As they all walked towards the exit everyone was quiet for the first few minutes until Yuffie broke the silence.

"So what happened to Miles and Genesis?" she asked.

"They fled once Tifa escaped," Cloud answered.

"Why do I have the feeling that's not the last we'll be seeing of them," Elena commented.

"You're right," Tifa said to Elena somberly. "Miles has the huge materia and he plans on using it."

Tifa felt bad for not sounding more concerned but after what she went through over the last few days she felt emotionally drained. It had actually slipped her mind up until now. At this point she was so mentally exhausted everything around her felt dazed.

"Do you know what his plans are Tifa?" Reeve asked concerned.

"All I know is that during the attacks on the cities he had the copies plant explosives in three locations and he needs to enter some codes to detonate them at once." Tifa continued to look straight ahead walking as she answered Reeve. She was trying really hard to try to remember everything that she overheard Miles say. "The fourth target he plans to detonate personally." She heard him rant to Genesis non-stop about his plans for the huge materia.

As they continue walking with Tsang in the lead Reeve took a few minutes to ponder Tifa's information. He knew Miles was working on a project to generate energy using materia and he wondered if this was his real plan.

Over the past few months Reeve had kept Miles busy with the Corel project and while planning the reactor demolition mission Miles rarely left the WRO headquarters with the exception of a half-day leave he took a few days before the mission. But he himself had been so busy planning the satellite launch it would have been easy for Miles to slip away for a few hours now and again.

Then it hit Reeve like a bag of bricks; everything Tifa told him suddenly made since. The two WRO members that were found dead, Miles' project, the codes, and the clone attacks were all connected and Reeve was sure he knew how. One of the two people that were found dead in Edge was a programmer who worked on the satellite project and the other was an engineer who worked on the same project but was also assisting Miles with the designs for his materia project. Reeve was sure these two were assassinated because they either assisted or knew about Miles' plan and had to be eliminated.

"I think Miles might be using the satellite to detonate the explosives," he informed the group.

"What?" Cid asked upset over the thought of someone using his baby for something evil. "Shera and I oversaw that whole project. There is no f&amp;*^in' way someone tampered with it behind our backs."

"No," Reeve corrected the pilot. "I think he obtained the codes to reprogram the satellite after its launch. Which means he needs to send someone to enter the codes in the control room in Junon since they failed to do that during the last attack."

Although the copies managed to infiltrate the Junon headquarters during the last attack they were unable to reach the satellite control room on the 4th floor before they were driven away.

Reeve took out his cell phone to call ahead and notify the WRO.

"But why go through all that trouble?" Barret, who had been relatively quiet so far, finally spoke up after Reeve was finished on the phone. "Why don't he just use a timer or detonator to trigger em'?"

"He was a Shinra scientist," Reno piped up. "They're all crazy. It's probably just his way at getting back at the WRO."

"Does anyone have any idea who or what he is targeting?" Yuffie asked the group.

That was a good question everyone was thinking but nobody had an answer to. Reno figured if he wanted to know the plans of a crazy scientist he needed to think like a crazy person.

"How fitting would it be if he used the WRO satellite to destroy the WRO headquarters," he thought out loud.

Then the realization hit everyone. Reno was right.

"Reno, you're a genius," Reeve told the redhead.

There were three WRO headquarters in three separate cities on the planet. This would explain why the three headquarters were the primary focus of the attacks and why he planned to hit three locations.

After all that walking they finally reached the exit and proceeded to trench through the snow. The group used two helicopters to reach the facility since Cid's ship was too big to land close enough but with one helicopter damaged they only had one functional helicopter remaining. Luckily Cid made sure his airship and crew stayed nearby so they could be called for a pickup once they reached higher ground.

"What about the fourth location?" Cid asked.

Tifa was trying her best to remember her time captive to see if there was a piece of information she missed that could help. Then she remembered Miles said something to Genesis when he asked about the huge materia.

"Miles saying something about having to travel near Kalm and having an old score to settle," she informed the group impassively. She was looking straight ahead as she talked not making eye contact with anyone as if she had a lot on her mind.

The more Tifa talked the more the people around her realized she was not sounding like her usual self. She seemed detached and distant. Anyone who knew Tifa well enough knew she was not being the same cheerful self but after what she went through they did not blame her for acting different.

"The only thing in that area besides Kalm is the chocobo farm and…" Elena paused. She looked towards Tseng who came to the same realization when a look of concern grew on his face.

"Boss!" Reno and Rude said simultaneously coming to the same conclusion as their fellow Turks.

Reno reached into his pocket for his phone to call Rufus to warn him but there was no answer. At this point the Turks only had one thing on their mind and that was to go help their commander and chief.

They started to race towards the helicopter while the others continued on towards the pick-up location while Cid called ahead to inform his crew of their approach.

The Turks promised to keep them up to date and notify them as soon as they had more information.

As soon as they boarded the airship the crew had it prepped and ready to go. Cloud handed Shelke to Barret who took her down to the lounge with Yuffie. Cid, Reeve, Cloud and Tifa proceeded to the bridge to decide on their next course of action.

"So Junon?" Cid asked as he stood at the controls.

Reeve nodded yes.

They figured the best plan was to try to stop them from accessing the satellite in order to prevent all three bombs from detonating. Reeve called all three headquarters to start evacuating and told security to search for anything that looked out of the ordinary. Luckily many of the staff had not returned after the attacks since most were assisting with the injured or with their families. He told security to notify him if they found anything suspicious.

Everyone was silent the first few minutes after take-off. Tifa and Cloud were standing close to each other near the back of the control deck while Reeve stood near Cid who was piloting the aircraft.

Cloud and Tifa knew they had a lot to talk about but they wanted to wait until they were alone. Cloud figured they would have lots of time to discuss the events after he dealt with Miles and Genesis. He was still consumed with anger and wanted to hold on to that anger until he saw Miles again. Talking with Tifa would just calm him down; she always had that effect on him. Tifa was so consumed with her own thoughts she did not register the awkward silence in the room.

Shortly after Barret joined the others on the bridge breaking the silence.

"I just got a text from Vincent," Barret informed his friends. "Weiss and two others escaped in an airship and he is followin' em'."

"It must be Miles and Geneisis," Reeve commented. The airship they escaped in must have been the airship that went missing two weeks ago. He had a suspicion that it was an inside job and he was right; it was Miles all along. Then Reeve looked at Barret. "Call him back and tell him to update us as soon as he has more information."

Barret proceeded to call Vincent. It was good that they had someone following them.

"Now we got some eyes in the sky. They won't be able to make a move without Vincent knowin' about it." Cid said without taking his eyes off the window.

There was complete silence amongst the group as they made their way back to Junon.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 - Junon**

It did not take too long before they arrived in Junon. As they flew over the city Tifa was shocked at all the damage it suffered from the attack. She knew it had been attacked from listening to Miles but she didn't know the extent of the damage until now. Many of the buildings around the WRO were charred and one was partially collapsed. There were likely casualties based on the extent of the damage. She could only imagine what Corel and Edge looked like.

As they reached the airbase she could see a small group of people standing on the tarmac. Reeve had called ahead and made sure a medical crew was waiting on the runway for them to arrive. When they landed the paramedics rushed Shelke to the hospital while the others went straight to the WRO Headquarters. Yuffie decided to stay with Shelke to keep her company.

As they ran through the city Tifa could tell the headquarters was the primary target. There were WRO peacekeepers surrounding the building preventing people from entering due to the evacuation order. As they walked towards the main entrance they were greeted by Vincent who had just arrived.

"Vincent," Reeve said a little surprised to see him, "what are you doing here?"

"I was ambushed by Genesis just outside of the city," he told the group. "I think he was a diversion; during our battle I witnessed a shuttle exit the airship. Shortly after Genesis retreated but not before I got one last shot in. I lost sight of the airship but the shuttle and Genesis headed towards the city. I assumed this was their target."

"Genesis must be targeting the control room," Reeve informed Vincent before clearing security and entering the building. Upon entering they were greeted by a security guard.

"Sir," the man said saluting Reeve. "The building has been evacuated and after an extensive sweep we think we found the explosive device."

"Good," Reeve told the guard. "Can you show me where it is?" he asked the man who nodded yes. Reeve looked at Barret. "You and I will go try to disarm the explosive while the rest of you go to the control room to stop Genesis."

Reeve figured all he had to do to disarm the explosive was remove the huge material. Still, it was better to bring Barret as a precaution since he had experience with explosives.

Barret and Reeve proceeded to follow the guard while the other three followed Cid towards the control room. Due to the attack earlier the elevators were inoperable so they had to take the stairs.

They followed Cid through the corridors when Vincent suddenly stopped and kneeled down inspecting a fresh pool of blood. There was a trail of blood drops leading towards the control room.

"Genesis went this way," Vincent told the others when they stopped and looked back at him.

Not only was there a blood trail giving him away Vincent could faintly smell Genesis' scent meaning he recently passed through here. One of the few benefits of being half-beast was his enhanced sense of hearing and smell. He also knew Genesis was not alone.

The group continued towards the control room.

"It's just through here," Cid informed the others as he turned right and walked through the big doors with the words 'research division' painted on the windows.

"The control room is in the…" Cid stopped talking when he walked into the room to see Weiss standing with his swords raised waiting for them.

"Want to play?" he asked the group with an evil grin on his face.

Vincent knew this was another distraction while Genesis imputed the codes.

"You guys go," he told the other three, "I got this."

With that Vincent raised his gun and fired two shots at Weiss who managed to dodge the attack.

While Vincent fought the Tsviet the others ran across the room full of equipment and through the double doors leading to the control room. When they entered the room Genesis, who was standing at the control panel, turned to face them.

"You're too late," the ex-SOLDIER informed them.

He grinned while drawing his sword. It was obvious part of his wing was damaged from Vincent's attack earlier.

Cloud drew his sword while Tifa raised her fists ready to fight but as soon as the two charged at Genesis he jumped over them and exited the room.

"You two go after him while I deal with this," Cid told the others.

Cloud and Tifa followed Genesis back out of the room while Cid rushed over to the controls to see if he could reverse the codes. After inspecting the controls for a few seconds Cid finally pulled out his cell phone and pressed the speed dial.

"Honey, I need your help with something."

When Genesis entered the room he came across Vincent pointing a gun at a wounded Weiss. The Tsviet was slumped over with an obvious gunshot wound in his right shoulder making him incapable of using that arm. The sight of Weiss injured enraged Genesis causing him to charge the ex-Turk. Hearing Genesis behind him Vincent jumped but not before Genesis' sword struck his arm causing him to drop his gun.

When Cloud and Tifa entered the room they found Vincent unarmed with Genesis standing in front of him with his sword drawn. Both Vincent and Weiss appeared to be injured with Vincent holding his wounded arm and Weiss half standing with a gunshot wound to his shoulder and losing a lot of blood.

Genesis was standing in front Weiss shielding him while Vincent was standing on the other side of the room closer to Could and Tifa. Seeing Vincent injured Cloud raised his sword and jumped in front of his friend ready to finish his battle with Genesis.

There was a short pause before the two engaged in battle. Vincent, Tifa and Weiss watched while the two settled a score.

Tifa looked down to the ground noticing Vincent's gun and reached down to retrieve it for him. She couldn't help but think how easy it would be to use his gun to shoot Genesis right now ending it all. With all the dirty tricks Genesis and Miles pulled, Tifa would not feel any guilt if she shot Genesis in the back.

Tifa's thoughts scared her; it was not like her to think like that but she felt a darkness inside her polluting her mind and it was driving her to kill Genesis. She did not know if it was anger towards Genesis, fatigue or the alien cells within her that was causing these dark thoughts. Tifa looked over to see Vincent eyeing her as she held his gun.

Cloud and Genesis had only just engaged in battle when the loud sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the room. Genesis, who had his back towards Tifa and Vincent, froze just as his sword struck Cloud's. Cloud was also startled by the sound but realized what happened when he looked past Genesis to see Tifa standing next to Vincent pointing a gun at them. Vincent then calmly reached over and took his gun from Tifa who was still pointing it at Genesis.

"Brother!" Weiss yelled realizing Genesis had been shot.

Cloud looked at Genesis who was staring at him with wide eyes. It looked like shock was about to set in and a little pool of blood was starting to form in the corner of his mouth. Weiss ran over just when Genesis was about to fall in an attempt to catch him with his one good arm but the weight of the winged man caused the two of them to fall to the ground.

"Brother," Weiss said again supporting Genesis' head and shoulders.

There was a large wound in Genesis back and the blood was starting to pool all over the flood around the two. Genesis looked like he was trying to speak but no sounds were emerging. It did not take long before Genesis' eyes closed and he fell unconscious.

Cloud was a little shocked by Tifa's actions. He knew he could defeat Genesis so there was no reason for her to shoot him in the back like that.

Cloud walked over by Tifa who was watching the scene unfold. She was so preoccupied she didn't even notice him standing next to her.

Suddenly Cid came running into the room.

"I did it!" he said excitedly but stopped in his tracks when he saw what was going on. He walked over to the others and watched as Weiss held his brother.

Weiss was enraged at what that bitch did to him. Although Weiss never cared about anyone besides himself or Nero; Genesis was the closest thing he had to family and he did save his life. He was overcome with anger and he wanted nothing more than to strike her down at that very moment. But he knew he was too weak and there were too many of them. Death almost claimed him once and he was not about to risk his life again so soon; he was smarter than that. Using the last bit of strength he had left he tried to stand while holding Genesis using his one good arm. He managed to throw the winged man over his good shoulder and slowly exited the room.

A few minutes after Weiss departed Cloud looked at Vincent who nodded and proceeded to follow them. Cloud assumed Genesis was not going to survive his injuries, if he wasn't already dead. He didn't want to let them go free but he figured he should allow Weiss a chance to put his brother to rest.

Cloud also knew that the Tsviet would be back to seek revenge for this so he needed to be shadowed. After everything Weiss put Vincent through the ex-Turk was not going to let him walk away that easy and would help keep a watchful eye on him.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - Healen

It surprised Miles how easy it was to find his way into the mayor's basement undetected. He would have thought the once president of such a corrupt and treacherous corporation would have better security measures in place.

Alone in the basement Miles set up the device. All he had to do now was plant the explosives and arm it. He planned on triggering it from a safe distance but close enough so he could personally watch this town's destruction with his own eyes. It will bring him much joy to destroy the town that Rufus put his blood, sweat and tears into building in an attempt to help people and make amends for his past mistakes.

Miles had held a grudge against Rufus Shinra since the vice president signed the order that had him fired from the job he worked his whole life to obtain. He remembered when his supervisor recommended a demotion at his disciplinary meeting the president and his executives were so upset with permitting Zack and Cloud's escape they decided to dismiss him altogether. They even had the audacity to suggest that he was a traitor to Shinra.

His life was a downward spiral after that and he never forgave Rufus, Shinra Sr. and his executives for ruining his dreams. He was equally mad at Cloud and Zack for their role in all this and it took him years to track down Cloud in order to plan his revenge.

He was more than pleased with how his revenge on Cloud unfolded. Years of preparation could not have created such a perfect plan.

Miles had just finished activating the explosive when he realized someone was standing behind him. Before he could react he felt something hard and cold pressed against the back of his head. He knew it was the barrel of a gun and was sure he knew who was holding it.

"Now what do we have here?" Rufus asked standing behind the scientist. He cocked the pistol as a warning not to make any sudden moves.

Miles held up his hands slowly to show he was unarmed. Rufus moved his gun an inch as Miles turned to face him.

"My apologies for coming unannounced." Miles smiled at the mayor with his hands still in the air.

"What are you doing down here?" Rufus asked recognizing Miles.

This was the first time Rufus had even see Miles in person but he recognized his face from a salvaged employee file he reviewed for Reeve when he was considering hiring him.

"Well Mr. Mayor, you may not remember but I have an old score to settle with you." Miles told the blond.

"Oh yeah?" Rufus asked a little intrigued. "And what score might you be referring to?"

"I won't bore you with the details because I know you don't care," he told the mayor coldly. "Let's just say a long time ago you signed a piece of paper that ruined my life and now you have to pay."

"I have to pay? That's funny because I am the one with the gun." Rufus grinned not taking the threat seriously.

"You may have a gun but this is an explosive device," he said motioning towards the bomb. "It has enough power to wipe this little town off the map and I possess the switch."

"You flinch and I will shoot you," he warned.

Suddenly the sound of an explosion was heard outside followed by the ground shaking. This worried Rufus. Sensing his worries Miles grinned evilly.

"Right on time," he told the mayor. "You better let me go or they are going to continue attacking your precious town until I order them to stop."

Rufus used every ounce of strength not to shoot Miles and his stupid grin. How dear he target innocent people and his town. Rufus reluctantly agreed only because he wanted to see what he was up against before he made any drastic decisions regarding the man's life.

Rufus lowered the gun and used it to motion for Miles to lead the way up the stairs while he followed with the gun pointed. They walked towards the front entrance and when they exited Rufus was horrified to see extensive damage to the top floor of the hospital and damage to multiple homes.

People were fleeing the damaged buildings trying to escape the attack with the Genesis copies flying above. Many of the attackers were holding heavy artillery and one even had a bazooka. Upon seeing Miles they all stopped their attack and hovered above awaiting his orders.

"Here is the plan." Miles turned to face the mayor. "You are going to let me walk out of here and as soon as I am at a safe distance my friends here are going to retreat peacefully."

Rufus frowned.

"Now why would I let you leave when there is a bomb in my basement and you have the detonator?" He raised the gun and pointed it in Miles' face. "How about I shoot you now and deal with your friends myself."

Rufus was never one to negotiate with terrorists and the twerps demands were starting to piss him off.

Miles crossed his eyes for a second focusing on the barrel of the gun aimed at his face. Realizing he might have overstepped his bounds with the mayor and almost got himself shot he was starting to think he should just give Rufus what he wanted.

"How about I give you the detonator and you let me leave peacefully?" he asked a little nervously.

Rufus grinned and lower the gun a little bit.

"Only if you promise to leave and never come back."

Luckily for Miles, Rufus' main focus was getting the Genesis copies as far away as possible so they no longer threatened his citizen. He did not want to start a battle in the middle of his town that was located on a cliff and risk putting people's lives endanger. If it was just him here he would not let Miles leave alive.

The scientist nodded in agreement and slowly reached into his pocket to retrieve the detonator to give to Rufus.

After he handed the device to the mayor Miles proceeded to walk towards the town's exit as the copies watched. After Miles safely exited the town and was out of sight they retreated as promised.

As soon as the attackers left Rufus let out a big sigh of relief while all of the Healen citizens who witnessed the scene cheered for their mayor.

* * *

As he approached his airship Miles couldn't help but laugh at Rufus' stupidity. Only a fool would think he would bring the real detonator with him to activate the bomb. Did he actually think he was going to blow up the town with himself in it? All he had to do now was go back to his airship to retrieve the real detonator to complete his perfectly executed plan.

He was only just a few feet away from his airship when it suddenly exploded in a ball of fire sending him flying a few meters backwards. The explosion was so intense it caused debris to fall all around him and he could feel the heat from the fire on his face. He crashed landed on his back smacking his head hard on the ground. With his body aching, his face burning and his ears ringing all he could do was lie on the ground looking up as two people approached him.

Reno and Rude stood above the scientist's head with their arms crossed.

"I must say Rude," Reno said looking over at his partner as if Miles was not even there, "you really do know how to make a great bomb. Fine piece of work."

"Shinra technology at its best," Rude explained proudly.

As Miles senses started to come back to him his mind was racing trying to come up with a plan. He needed his reinforcements and he attempted to slowly reach into his pocket while the two Turks were talking with each other.

Finally noticing the scientist Reno points his nightstick at Miles. It was less than an inch away from his face and he could feel a little spark zap the tip of his noise. Miles dropped the phone and slowly raised his hands sheepishly.

"If it's your winged goons you were thinking about calling," Reno informed the scientist as if he knew what he was trying to do. "Tseng and Elena are taking care of them and let's just say Elena isn't too happy with what they did to her house."

Reno looked over at Rude with his electric rod still pointed at Miles' face.

"'Cause you know what happens when she's mad." The redhead commented to his friend. Rude nodded in agreement as if he knew all too well. Then Reno turned his attention back to Miles. "That's the last thing you want to do," he informed the hostage with a smile, "and wait until you see what she will do to you."

Rude then reached down and grabbed Miles by the upper arm pulling him up off the ground and onto his feet. Miles' whole body was aching but he had more important things to worry about like what the Turks had planned for him.

"You're coming with us," Rude told Miles as he dragged him back towards the town.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Healen pt. 2

"I just don't understand," Reeve told the others onboard the Shera. "We could not locate any huge materia inside the device."

"Maybe we stopped them before they could put it in." Cid suggested.

Cloud, Tifa, Reeve, Barret and Cid left Junon so they could go track down the other two devices. They didn't know if the other two were armed so they figured it was best to check.

Since Barret and Reeve knew what the devices looked like Barret asked to be dropped off in Corel to check the second one which he assumed would be located in the WRO office in Corel. After dropping off their friend Reeve and the others were on their way to Edge to locate the third device. They were all standing on the bridge in silence when Reeve received a call. Everyone was silent while Reeve took the call.

"I just got off the phone with Reno," Reeve informed the others. "They have Miles hostage. I guess he was planning on attacking Healen personally but was interrupted by the Turks."

"Why does he have a grudge against Shinra?" Cid asked the commissioner. "Didn't he use to work for 'em?"

Reeve did not have an answer for Cid; he was kind of curious himself. When he was doing his background check on Miles it looked like he had an uneventful carrier on the SOLDIER floor. Although he was using salvaged employment records the information he was able to find showed Miles worked in the materia room up until almost a year before the fall of Shinra since that's when the file stopped. Many of the records after that were hard to come by due to chaos following Shinra senior's murder.

"He was fired for allowing prisoners to escape when they were being held captive by Hojo," Tifa explained automatically as soon as Cid asked the question.

Up until this point she was standing next to Cloud in the back of the bridge. Both her and Cloud had been so quiet since boarding the airship Cid and Reeve almost forgot they were there.

"Rufus signed off on his dismissal so he blamed him for ruining his life." She said blankly almost as if she was talking to herself.

Both Cid and Reeve looked at her confused wondering how she knew all this. As if sensing their confusion Tifa explained.

"He talked about it a lot when I was his prisoner," she explained.

"So is the plan still Edge or should we go Healen?" Cid asked the group.

Up until this point Cloud had been standing at the back of the bridge leaning against the wall with his arms folded. His head was down as if he was resting his eyes but he was just thinking while half-listening to the conversation around him. Hearing Cid's question he looked up at the group.

"Drop us off in Healen," Cloud told the pilot speaking for himself and Tifa.

"After you drop them off we will go to Edge and search for the last device," Reeve told the Captain.

It didn't take long for Cid to reach Healen where Tifa and Cloud disembarked leaving Cid and Reeve to continue on to Edge. When they entered Healen it looked as if the top floor of the hospital had caught on fire because the blast zone was charred and smouldering.

Cloud and Tifa went straight towards the mayor's office assuming that is where the Turks and Rufus would be located.

When they entered the building they found Rude sitting at his desk with his feet up on the table and Reno lying on a couch across from him. The two quickly sat up straight as soon as they notice someone enter the room.

"Where is he?" Cloud asked upon entering the room.

Knowing who they were referring to Reno and Rude got up from their seats and walked them down into the basement. The basement was large and sectioned off with a broiler room, storage area, and multiple other rooms Cloud and Tifa had no idea what they were used for. The Turks took them down a hallway and stopped at a heavy metal door with a small glass window in it and a food slot towards the bottom.

"Is this a prison cell?" Tifa asked the Turk.

"Sort of," Reno answered. "We put them here but this is the first time we've had to use one."

"We are sort of the police around here," Rude explained.

"Oh please," a female's voice said from down the hall.

They all look over to see Elena standing a few feet away with her arms folded.

"The only thing in this town that needs policing are Reno and Rude after a night out at the pub." She said as she walked towards them and stopped by the door.

"But still," Reno explained to Elena. "Aren't you glad we put these in?" He motioned towards the steel cell door. "Abduction, interrogation, a hostage; just like old times," he reminisced with a smile leaning against the wall.

Cloud looked through the cell window to see an empty room with a basic metal cot. Miles was lying on the cot with his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. Cloud could see he had a big black and purple swollen eye and noise with traces of blood around his noise and shirt.

"What happened to him?" Cloud asked.

"Interrogation," Reno responded nonchalantly. "We let Elena have a few minutes with him."

Cloud and Tifa looked at Elena a little surprised and curious as to what drove the nice petite woman to be so aggressive.

Sensing they were looking for a rationale.

"He pissed me off," she answered with a shrug.

"They blew a hole through her and Tseng's new house," Reno explained.

Elena shot the redhead a dirty look for providing too much personal information.

"Anyways," she said changing the subject. "He will probably be unconscious for another few hours at least."

She looked at Tifa who she could sense was tired from a long day.

"The boss reserved you a room at the inn if you want to get some rest. We have a camera on him so we can let you know as soon as he wakes up."

It was already very late so there was a good chance Miles would not be awake until morning.

"Thank you," Tifa said to the female Turk.

Even though all she could think of was confronting the man who tormented her she was equally tired and thought she might be in a better frame of mind to deal with him if she got some much needed rest. She looked at Cloud who knew what she was thinking and nodded in agreement. They walked towards the stairs with the three Turks following behind.

"Is the boss back yet?" Reno asked Elena as they were walking upstairs.

"No, he is still assisting with the hospital repairs," she explained to the redhead. "With the intensive care ward destroyed they had to move dozen of patients to other floors and now the hospital is over capacity, he wants it repaired as soon as possible." She paused for a second then remembered something. "That reminds me, he wants you and Rude to head over and assist while I watch the prisoner."

When they all reached the main floor everyone but Elena exited the Mayor's office. Reno and Rude walked towards the hospital while Cloud and Tifa went in the direction of the Inn.

Tifa was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed with Cloud. When they entered the Inn the innkeeper, who was expecting them, directed them to their room.

It was a standard Inn room with a closet, a dresser with a mirror and a queen size bed in the middle of the room. The two walked in and Cloud closed the door behind them.

As Cloud turned away from the door Tifa was standing near the bed. He walked across the room and embraced her. They had not had any time alone since the night Tifa was captured almost a week ago. The thought of losing her terrified him and he wanted nothing more than to hold her.

"I'm sorry," Cloud told Tifa as he was holding her.

Tifa stopped the embrace and looked up at him.

"Sorry for what?" she asked puzzled.

"It's because of me all this happened to you," he explained.

He looked into her brown mako-infused eyes. Her glowing eyes were something that was going to take time to get accustomed to. Right now they were a reminder of all the torment she had to endure because of him.

"You couldn't have foreseen any of this," Tifa tried to comfort him.

She would never blame him for any of this. He went across the planet looking for her and as far as she was concerned he suffered equally because she was unable to protect herself.

"How are you feeling?" Cloud asked. He wanted to ask her about what happened but didn't want to bring it up if she wasn't ready to talk about it.

Tifa yawned. "I'm a little tired," she replied changing the subject.

Truthfully she didn't even know herself how she was feeling about this. Obviously she was angry at Miles for what he did to her but she was numb of other emotions. She hoped this was just due to her fatigue. She was tired but more emotionally and mentally drained then anything. Surprisingly she still felt strong physically and still had some energy considering she had not slept in almost two days.

Taking the hint Cloud let go of Tifa and they proceed to get ready for bed. They each walked over to opposite sides of the bed and started to undress. Cloud couldn't help but look at Tifa as she was removing her clothes. He could see she had multiple cuts on her upper body and he noticed small bruises on her arms, chest and midsection. He wondered if the bruises were from fighting or from Miles.

Looking at the bruises he then noticed that her baby bump was starting to show. Looking at her stomach he wondered how far along she was. That's when the truth really hit him; he was going to be a father. He had known this for over a week now but seeing Tifa's belly made it more real. He felt a wave of emotions; joy, excitement, and fear at the same time.

Tifa glanced over to see Cloud staring at her. She looked down to see all the bruises on her body and immediately turned away so Cloud would not see. Usually she liked it when Cloud watched her undress but this time it was making her feel uncomfortable. Most of the small bruises on her body were needle marks which she assumed was from Miles injected her with something or taking blood. She didn't even know exactly what he did to her since she was unconscious for most of it. She only knew the stuff she heard him talk about after she gained consciousness.

Seeing Tifa turn away Cloud snapped out of his gaze. It was not like her to turn away from him like that; he wondered if it was embarrassment from the wounds on her body.

Wearing just her bra and underwear Tifa pulled back the bedsheets and laid down. Cloud did the same wearing just his boxers. As soon as he entered the bed he pulled Tifa close and held her tight for the rest of the night.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Healen pt. 3

It was early the next morning when the phone rang waking Cloud and Tifa. It was Elena informing them that Miles finally gained consciousness. After Cloud got off the phone they proceeded to get dressed and decided to go directly to Rufus' office to see the prisoner.

Tifa was a little hungry but she decide to wait and eat after their meeting. Truthfully they weren't even sure what they hoped to accomplish by speaking with the scientist but Tifa felt the need to confront him.

When they reached the office they were greeted by Reno and Rude who recently came over to relieve Elena from her night watch. Reno took Cloud and Tifa down to Miles' cell and unlocked the door to let them in.

"Just knock when you want out," Reno told the two as they walked into the room locking the door behind them.

As they entered the room Miles was sitting on the cot with his back against the wall. He looked up and smiled when he realized who walked in. His injuries appeared a lot worse today compared to yesterday. From his right eyebrow to the bridge of his nose was swollen and now a deep back and blue bruise covered a large portion of his face. He was in need of some cure materia but Cloud and Tifa would be the last two people to help him out.

Elena really did a number on him and this made Tifa a little happy. She also noticed a few small bruises on his neck which Tifa assumed was from when she attacked him after breaking free from the mako chamber.

Seeing Miles' smirk angered Cloud. He couldn't help but wonder what he was smiling over; his plans were ruined, he was now a prisoner, and for all he knew they were there to kill him.

"What are you smiling about?" Tifa asked abruptly.

"It feels good to see that you are doing so well," he told Tifa casually. "Very few people would be strong enough to survive the procedure."

"I'm am not your experiment!" Tifa said furiously.

Her anger was starting to take over and she was fighting to control herself. He heart was starting to race and she could feel the blood rush to her face.

Noticing her anger Miles stopped smiling and looked at her a little disappointed.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked genuinely. "You should be grateful for what I've done to you. I've made you stronger and now you are strong enough to survive your condition." He gestured his hand towards Tifa's midsection.

"What are you talking about?" Cloud asked.

Miles looked at Tifa with a serious expression.

"I must admit when I first abducted you I was only focused on revenge but after contemplating your condition I couldn't help but think about all your untapped potential. All you needed was a little help so you and your child have the best chance of success." Miles paused looking from Cloud to Tifa who was still scowling at him. "Unfortunately many of the subjects in both Project S and Project G did not fare so well when it came to the mothers and the birth of their child. Lucrecia barely survived the birth of her son Sephiroth who was injected with Jenova cell in the womb. The procedure produced an amazing specimen but Lucrecia had to be pumped full of Jenova cell just to survive and she still withered away; a shell of the woman she once was kept alive by Jenova cells and grief. Gillian fared a little better; being injected with Jenova cells herself she passed the alien DNA on to her son who later died of degradation because he did not receive the cells directly."

Miles looked up at Tifa with a sincere look.

"After what Cloud told me about your condition and I studied the blood sample he provided I realized he mostly passed his Jenova DNA to your child like Gillian did to Angeal. But since you did not possess any Jenova cell you risk suffering the same fate as Lucrecia. I had to do something or you and your child would risk suffering the same fate as them. Your best chance for success is to recreate the procedure that Gillian and Sephiroth were subjected to. So not only did I inject you and your unborn child with Jenova cells I also subjected you to the same process Shinra used to make SOLIDERs. It's because of me you are stronger than any SOLIDER and possibly strong enough to survive the birth of your child."

Miles explanation made Tifa sick to her stomach. She didn't know what bothered her more: listening to him explain it or that he actually thought he did her a service. She also felt a little betrayed that Cloud told Miles about their pregnancy. Their good friends didn't even know about it and the first person Cloud told was this stranger. Cloud was usually such a private person and very few people knew about Hojo's experimentation on him.

Her mind was racing with questions and her anger was making it hard for her to focus. She didn't even know if what Miles said was even true. For all she knew he was making this up to justify his actions. Tifa decided not to believe a word he was saying; he was just trying to save his skin. She was hungry, angry, and frustrated with his talking. She wanted nothing more than to give him another black eye to match the one Elena gave him.

Cloud could tell Miles' explanation was angering Tifa. Although he was mad with Miles for what he did to Tifa what he said did make sense. Tifa meant more to him than anything and if there was a chance their child's birth would cause Tifa's death he would not think twice but he knew Tifa would not think the same way. She was such a selfless person she would probably risk her life for her child if it came down to it.

"Don't you see how I helped you?" Miles asked Tifa somberly. "You should be thanking me."

"Thank you?!" Tifa screamed at him so loud he flinched afraid she was going to hit him.

It was becoming hard for her to control her rage and saying that set her off. Her anger was causing her heart to beat so fast it felt as if her blood was boiling. Tifa's fury was taking over and she lunged at him when suddenly a sharp agonizing pain travelled from her head, down her body and into her chest. She suddenly felt lightheaded and her head was throbbing. Sensing something was wrong Cloud reached out to help her keep steady on her feet.

"Maybe we should go until you calm down," Cloud suggested and Tifa nodded in agreement unable to talk at the moment.

She knew something was wrong and she had to get out of there.

Helping her over to the door Cloud knocked and it was immediately opened by Reno who looked at him awkwardly. It was obvious he overheard everything standing outside the door.

"You should probably go to the hospital," Reno suggested looking a little worried.

Taking the redhead's advice the two made their way to the hospital. Tifa insisted that she just needed a few minutes to calm down but Cloud knew she was not well and he didn't want to take any chances.

Cloud helped her across town towards the Hospital. There was nobody in the waiting room when they entered the emergency reception area.

Cloud sat Tifa down in a chair while he went over to talk to the lady behind the desk. Less than five minutes after registering a nurse came to take Tifa to a room to be triaged.

Cloud stayed behind in the waiting room. About twenty minutes later the nurse came out to retrieve him. He followed her into the emergency room area which was a big opened room surrounded by individual rooms around the outside. There was a busy area with a desk in the middle which he assumed was the nurse's station. Towards the back of the room there was another set of double doors leading to the rest of the hospital.

The nurse took Cloud to one of the first rooms to the right. When they entered the room Tifa was lying on a bed hooked up to an IV.

"Are you OK?" He asked her concerned.

Tifa forced a faint smile to let Cloud know she was ok.

"I was just a little dehydrated," she assured him.

This was the first time Cloud seen Tifa smile since he found her. She was normally the cheerful, smiling, positive one of the group; it hurt him to see her like this. Although he completely understood the way she was feeling he would do anything to bring his smiling happy Tifa back.

Suddenly a tall woman with red hair in a ponytail walked into the room holding a medial chart. She was wearing a lab coat and had one blue eye but her other eye looked a little difference and was more of a pale blue color. She was wearing glasses and had one biomechanical arm.

"Not only is she severely dehydrated, she is malnourished and her blood pressure is severely elevated," the woman told the two. She looked up at the medical chart to face Cloud and Tifa. "Considering your condition you should be taking better care of yourself."

"How is the baby?" Tifa asked.

"Luckily the ultrasound looks normal so your baby is healthy."

The woman took a few steps towards the bed.

"We are just going to keep you under 24 hour observation and make sure you get some fluids into you." She walked over towards the IV and checked the bag of fluid. As she stood next to the IV Tifa was able to make out the name on her nametag.

"S. Rui," Tifa said out loud recognizing the last name, "are you Shelke's sister?"

Shalua turned her attention from the IV bag to Tifa and nodded yes.

"How do you know my sister?" she asked.

"She has been staying with us in Edge," Tifa replied.

"So you must be Tifa and Cloud," Shalua said looking from Cloud to Tifa. "She has told me a lot about you two."

"I thought you worked for the WRO?" Cloud asked.

He had never met her face to face but he knew who she was and that she use to work for Reeve a few years ago.

"Well I don't know if Shelke told you but I was trapped and lost in the ruins of Midgar for some time. I thought I was going to die but the Turks came across my capsule and took me to this hospital where they revived me. I liked what they were doing here so once I was healthy enough I decided to volunteer my services." Shalua explained.

It was actually ironic that after spending ten years of her life fighting Shinra she was rescued by the Turks and now worked in Rufus Shinra's hospital. After finding her sister she did not feel the need to return to work for the WRO and felt her skills could be of more useful helping the sick.

Tifa remembered Shelke would often leave for a few days at a time saying she was going to visit family but never went into detail. She was such a private person but Tifa always wondered where she was going and now she knew. Suddenly Tifa remembered about what happened to Shelke and that she was in the hospital in Junon.

"Did you hear about what happened to your sister?" Tifa asked the woman.

Shalua nodded yes.

"Reeve informed me about it two days ago. I was scheduled for a ride to Junon yesterday to see her but then the hospital was attacked. I decided to postpone my visit to help the injured since Shelke is reportedly doing okay. My ride leaves this afternoon." Shalua passed and frowned. "I am a little upset with Reeve for not telling me about her abduction until after she was rescued."

Sensing she hit a nerve Tifa tried to change the subject.

"Well, when you see her tell her we hope she makes a speedy recovery." Tifa did not know how long it would be until Shelke would be back in Edge or if they would be able to visit her anytime soon.

Shalua smiled a little and nodded.

"Well I must do one last round before I go." She looked at Tifa. "You take it easy and start taking better care of yourself," she said sternly.

Tifa nodded yes a little embarrassed. "Thank you."

"Make sure she stays away from stress," Shalua warned Cloud, "and nice meeting both of you."

She looked from Cloud to Tifa and exited the room.

Cloud walked over and sat in the chair next to Tifa.

"So I guess I'm stuck here for 24 hours," Tifa said a little annoyed.

She knew it was her fault; if she took better care of herself she would not be in this mess. Still, she was feeling a lot better now and did not like the idea of being confined to a hospital bed.

Sensing Tifa's frustration Cloud tried to take her mind off of it.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. "I can go get you something to eat in the cafeteria."

"I'm a little hungry," she replied sheepishly.

Truthfully she was starving but she did not want to tell Cloud. She felt bad enough for putting him through this and felt like a child for not taking better care of herself.

Cloud left Tifa to go find some food for her in the cafeteria. He asked one of the nurses who directed him where to go.

Walking through the hospital Cloud was really impressed. All the staff seemed to be very happy and from what he saw the hospital seem run like a well-oiled machine. Cloud could tell the staff were busy with most of the rooms being full but it didn't feel chaotic like you would expect from a busy hospital.

Cloud found his way to the cafeteria on the first floor. It was a little crowed because it was almost lunch time. Many of the tables were full of staff and public enjoying their lunch.

Cloud walked over to the counter to order some food for Tifa when he spotted Rufus pouring himself a coffee at the beverage area. Seeing Cloud Rufus walked over to talk to him.

"What brings you here?" Rufus asked curious. He wondered if maybe Cloud came to talk to him about Miles.

"Tifa's not feeling well," Cloud answered not wanting to divulge too much information. Although knowing how much of a gossip Reno was Cloud figured everyone will probably know soon enough.

Rufus was not surprised to hear about Tifa. He knew about Miles abducted her and he couldn't even imagine all the things he probably did to her.

"Is she ok?" he asked.

Cloud nodded yes.

"I was wondering what you plan to do with your hostage?" he asked the Mayor.

Rufus stopped to think about it for a second.

"I don't have any plans for him myself. Truthfully I really don't care if he lives or dies. I heard he gave you a hard time; if you want him you can have him," he offered. He liked the idea of Cloud taking Miles off his hands and disposing of him. Rufus grinned as if the idea of Cloud walking on the dark side amused him. "If not, I will hand him over to Reeve so he can be dealt with appropriately."

Cloud thought about Rufus' offer. Although part of him would like to see Miles suffer greatly for what he did to Tifa he was never one to maim or torture out of revenge. By turning him over to Reeve and the WRO he would be arrested and tried for his actions.

"Well if you change your mind or if you want another shot alone with him," Rufus explained. "You have until tomorrow morning before the WRO will be here to retrieve him."

Rufus looked at his watch while holding a cup of coffee in his hand. "Now if you excuse me." With that Rufus excused himself and exited the cafeteria.

It always amazed Cloud how much Rufus had changed since meteor and the fall of Shinra. To this day Cloud had a hard time trusting him; even during the Geo-Stigma incident Rufus lied to him about having Jenova's head in his possession. At the same time Cloud had to admit that actions speak louder than words and Rufus had been demonstrating that he was a changed man. Cloud could sense Rufus' evil streak was still within him but he was starting to believe that Rufus would use it for good.

After talking with the mayor Cloud made his way over to the counter to order some food for himself and Tifa. A lot of the cooked food did not look very appetizing so he ordered her a sandwich and salad while he just ordered himself a sandwich. Tifa never really like greasy food and he didn't know how hungry she was so he figured it was best to get her a two things.

When he brought Tifa the food she thanked him and dove in. She would never say it but he could tell she was starving by how fast she ate. He had never seen her eat like that before even when they were travelling the world and would go days without eating.

Cloud finished half his sandwich and stopped to look at Tifa. He couldn't help but smile at her. He thought she looked so adorable devouring her food. As she was finishing her meal she started to slow down a little. He let her enjoy her food and didn't say a word until after she was finished eating.

"I ran into Rufus in the cafeteria. He is going to hand Miles over to the WRO tomorrow," he informed her.

Tifa pushed her empty food tray off to the side and paused for a few second.

"I guess that's for the best," she said coldly.

She knew turning him over to the WRO was the right thing to do but something about it didn't sit right with her. She really did not know what she would do if she got a hold of Miles but she would probably not forgive herself if she murdered him like she did Genesis. But thinking about it she really did not feel guilty for shooting Genesis and this alarmed her. She wondered if the Jenova cells were affecting her personality or maybe it was all the stress of everything.

She wondered if the old Tifa was capable of shooting someone in the back like a coward. She didn't feel like her old happy and cheerful self.

Seeing Tifa lost in thought and looking worried Cloud decided to change the subject.

"I was thinking after you are discharged tomorrow we could head back home," he suggested.

He assumed Reeve would take Miles to Edge for now and given everything that happened he will probably wait to finish the reactor destruction project. They only had the Mt. Nibel reactor left and although it was the one reactor they wanted destroyed the most, it could wait. All he cared about right now was making sure Tifa got some rest like the doctor suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Tifa said half-heartedly with a forced smile.

She had so much on her mind right now it was hard for her to really compute what Cloud was telling her. She knew returning home was the best for her but part of her felt restless like she had unfinished business she had to take care of.

"I'm kind of tired," she informed Cloud. Truthfully she wasn't that tired but she really needed some time by herself to think. "If you want to go get some fresh air or something," she suggested to him. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

She forced another smile and lifted up her arm with the IV in it. Normally she would have welcomed Cloud's company but right now she just wanted to be alone.

Taking the hint Cloud nodded and stood up from his chair. He leaned over and kissed Tifa on the forehead.

"I won't be far," he said before exiting the room.

Cloud left the hospital to go get some fresh air while Tifa rested. It was a little after noon and some of the town's people were still repairing the three houses that were damaged in the attack. Having nothing to do Cloud decided to give them a hand.

After helping an elderly couple put up some siding Cloud noticed Tseng and Elena repairing a broken window on another house. Their house was hardest hit with extensive damage to the roof, side, and foundation.

Cloud went over to help them board up a hole on the side of the house protecting it from the elements until someone could come to fix it properly. All of the contractors were busy repairing the hospital and it would take a few days until they could tackle the residential repairs.

Having helped build Edge Cloud knew enough to help Tseng repair and shingle the roof while Elena passed up tools and shingles. It was almost dark by the time they were finished with the roof. As soon as they were done Tseng thanked him and hurried off to the mayor's office leaving Elena and Cloud.

"I'm meeting the guys for dinner and some drinks if you want to join us. My treat." Elena offered Cloud. "It's the least I can do for all your help."

"Thanks, but I should go check in on Tifa," Cloud responded.

"Well if you change your mind we will be over at the pub."

Cloud walked back to the hospital while Elena made her way to the pub. When he reached the hospital he went directly to Tifa's room and was surprised to see she was still sleeping. Cloud was standing by the doorway when her nurse walked by.

"You just missed her," the nurse said stopping to talk to Cloud.

"Missed her?" Cloud asked puzzled.

"Yeah, she just dozed off after eating her dinner. Poor thing must have been tired."

"Did she sleep at all today?"

"I don't think so. She was up every time I went in to check on her." With that the nurse went to go check on her other patients.

Cloud was a little hurt Tifa lied to him and said she wanted to get some rest. At the same time he didn't think it was fair to jump to conclusions since she might have felt she had a good reason to lie. Maybe she felt bad for cooping him up in a hospital with her or maybe she really wanted some time to herself. Cloud was starting to get a little hungry so he made his way back to the pub to join Elena and the others for dinner.

Cloud walked out of the hospital making his way down a series of staircases and across a small bridge towards a large ledge along the cliff-side that contained the Pub, general store and a few other shops.

When he entered the pub it was busy with all the tables and the bar full of people eating and drinking. There were two families with children eating but almost everyone else were adults enjoying themselves. He scanned the room and spotted Elena, Rude and Reno sitting in a booth located in the back corner of the establishment.

Reno spotted Cloud and waived him over. Cloud made his way over and sat in the open seat next to Reno.

"Right on time," Reno told the blond. "We haven't ordered any food yet."

"So how is Tifa doing?" Elena asked him.

"Good. She just needed some rest," Cloud replied before looking through the menu.

A few minutes later the waitress came and took their food orders along with Cloud's drink order.

"You want another one, hun?" she asked Reno noticing his rum and soda was almost finished.

Reno looked up and smiled.

"You should know the answer to that question," he said jokingly and took the last sip of his drink before handing her the empty glass. She took the glass and walked away.

"Remember Reno, you have to relieve Tsang first thing tomorrow morning," Elena warned.

"Ah that's fine." Reno waived his hand. "They should be here early to get him so it's not like I have a long shift." Reno let out a sigh. "I will be happy once he's gone. Those scientists give me the creeps."

The waitress brought Cloud and Reno their drinks.

"Thanks Becky," Reno smiled at the server before taking a sip of his fresh drink.

"What do you think they are going to do with him?" Rude asked.

"Probably put him on trial," Elena responded. "A lot of people are going to want to see him pay for his role in the attacks."

"I hope they interrogate him first," Reno said leaning back in his seat. "Force him to spill the beans on Deepground."

"What makes you think he even knows anything?" Elena asked.

"Common," Reno scoffed. "He was working with the Genesis himself. The one person the Tsviets were founded on plus Weiss. They had to of told him something."

Up to this point Cloud was just quietly listening but after hearing Reno he had to speak up.

"What are you talking about? I thought Deepground was destroyed," he asked.

"This is just one of Reno's crazy theories…" Elena explained before Reno had a chance to answer.

"A theory based on evidence," Reno interrupted the female Turk.

"What evidence?" Cloud asked the redhead.

Reno leaned forward on the table almost like he was about to tell Cloud a secret.

"Well Rufus has been sending us into the Midgar ruins for years now looking for anything important like useful Shinra technology, documents, hard drives, and so on. After the Omega incident last year he ordered us to locate any documents or information involving Deepground. If we found something we give it to Rufus so him and Tsang can review and destroy it. Well I peeked at some of these documents and it turns out Deepground was a hell-of-a-lot bigger than anyone anticipated. They weren't just confined to a structure under the Shinra building. They could be traced to every department in Shinra and owned more properties than Hojo had secret laboratories. Which is a lot by the way." Reno leaned back in his seat while taking a sip of his drink.

"If that's true Reno, and Deepground occupied all corners of the planet," Elena exaggerated, "then why did they only appear after they were freed from under the Shinra building?" she asked.

Reno paused to think.

"I don't know…" he shrugged it off. "I don't have all the answers."

Elena rolled her eyes and looked at Cloud.

"That's why it's just a theory," she reassured him crossing her arms and leaning back. "Apart from Genesis and Weiss there has been no evidence of Deepground activity since the Omega incident and we defeated their army."

"And that's another thing. Their army was huge; what's not to say some escaped or survived." Reno added.

"You are such as conspiracy theorist Reno," Elena said rolling her eye,

A few minutes later Becky approached their table carrying four plates of food.

"Here ya' go," she told the two male Turks while handing them their burger and fries.

Elena ordered a burger and salad while Cloud also ordered a burger and fries. After she handed them their food they thank her before she grabbed Rude and Elena's empty glasses for refills. The four ate their food silence while until Reno stopped eating to talk.

"So what happened to the two Jenova rejects anyways?" Reno asked Cloud. "Last I hear Genesis was shot or something?"

"Yes. Vincent is trailing him and Weiss," Cloud informed the redhead before taking another bite of his burger.

Cloud was not surprised the Turks already knew about what happened to Genesis. When it came to information they were worse than a group of gossiping school girls.

"So Genesis didn't die?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. His injuries were severe enough to be fatal."

"Well remind me to thank whoever put the SOLDIER out of commission," Reno said after finishing up his food and taking a sip of his drink. "Who was it? Vincent?"

Cloud shook his head no.

"Tifa," he told them.

A little grin appeared on Rude and Elena's faces while Reno looked a little surprised. All the Turks knew Tifa was a force to be reckoned with but they never pictured her as the type of person to shoot someone in cold blood.

"Good for her. I wanted to do the same to that little twerp but the boss said no," Reno said referring to Miles.

"Accidents happen all the time," Rude added before taking a sip of his scotch.

Reno smiled at his partner's joke before taking a sip of his drink. By now they were all finished eating and Becky came to take their plates and refill their drinks except Cloud who refused the refill offer.

Suddenly a beeping sounds could be heard coming from all the Turk's pockets. They all quickly pull out their phones and opened them. Then they proceeded to stand up simultaneously and pulled some gill out of their pockets throwing it on the table.

"You gotta come see this," Reno told Cloud who then stood up, placed some gill on the table and followed the Turks out of the pub.

The four walked across the main bridge towards the Mayor's office and were greeted by Tseng and Rufus standing by the front staircase. Rufus was holding a shotgun and instantly Cloud knew something happened with Miles.

"How did it happen?" Elena asked her two superiors.

Without saying a word they took the group around the structure and stopped at a big hole blown right through the side of the building.

"Who did this?" Reno asked.

It was dark but the hole was in the shape of a perfect circle and there were no fragments of the building anywhere to be seen. It was obvious this was not caused by explosives.

"Not sure," Tseng informed the redhead. "I was reviewing files and suddenly the security camera was deactivated. When I went down to check on the prisoner this hole was blown threw the basement wall and his cell door was ripped off the hinges. There was no sound of a blast or tremor. I searched the immediate area but nothing."

"What could have caused this?" Cloud asked.

"Oh there is technology out there that can do this," Reno added putting his hand on the edge of the hole inspecting the damage.

"Unfortunately my team has not been able to secure all the old salvageable and functional Shinra technology that can be found in the Midgar ruins." Rufus informed Cloud.

He turned away from the group looking into the darkness surrounding them. It was impossible to make anything out with the lights of the town behind him.

"Should we go search for him boss?" Reno asked.

There was a short paused before Rufus turned back towards the group.

"No. He'll be long gone by now."

Although he knew this was not anyone's fault Cloud was not happy. He was also not looking forward to breaking the news to Tifa when she woke up tomorrow. Realizing there was nothing more he could do about this he decided to say goodnight to the group and head back to the hospital.

After Cloud left the others stuck around for a few minutes to inspect the scene. They were just starting to walk back when Rufus heard something and paused. Realizing Rufus was not walking with them the Turks stopped and looked back. Suddenly Rufus raised his shotgun pointing it into the darkness. A second later the Turks could make out the shadow of something or someone moving towards them. Rufus cocked his gun as a warning.

"Don't shoot!" Elena told her boss who lowered his gun.

She realized the person who was approaching was Vincent in his chaos form. She recognized him from when he transformed at the Corel reactor. When he approached them he changed back into his regular self.

"Hey Vincent," Reno greeted the ex-Turk. "What brings you here?"

"Does this mean Genesis and Weiss are nearby?" Elena asked before Vincent could answer Reno.

"Just one of them," Vincent responded.

Vincent then informed his fellow Turks that after Genesis was injured he followed the WRO shuttle Weiss hijacked as far a Nibelheim where Weiss put Genesis in a mako chamber in the Shinra manor basement. Vincent then tracked Weiss as far as Edge but he must have figured out the ex-Turk was following them because he lost him in the city this afternoon.

He then met up with Reeve to advise him of the situation. Reeve sent a crew to go retrieve Genesis in Nibelheim and he informed Vincent that they had Miles prisoner in Healen so Vincent figured this was a good place to searching.

"Well you just missed him," Reno informed Vincent pointing at the huge cavity in the side of the building.

"How long ago did this happen?" Vincent asked.

"Less than half-hour ago," Tseng replied.

With that news Vincent transformed back into Chaos to go look for any sign of Weiss or Miles. Scouting at night was never an issue for him and he thought he might be able to catch up with them by air.

"Call if you have any news of their whereabouts," Rufus asked the ex-Turk.

Vincent nodded in agreement and took off into the night's sky.

"Wish I could fly like that," Reno remarked looking up at Vincent as he flew away.

"Yeah then we might still have all our helicopters," Elena teased.

Reno shot her a dirty look and they all decided to go back to the office to regroup.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Edge

It was early morning when Tifa woke up and looked around to see Cloud sleeping in the chair next to her. He opened his eyes as soon as she started to move around in her bed.

"Good morning," Tifa said with a smile.

"Morning," he replied sitting up straight in his chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I guess I just needed some rest." She was feeling a little more cheerful today and was looking forwarded to leaving the hospital. "Sorry I slept all day yesterday. I hope you weren't bored."

"I was able to keep busy," Cloud informed her. He didn't want to tell her about Mile's escape just yet.

Shortly after a nurse entered the room and checked Tifa's blood pressure.

"Everything looks good," the nurse said after writing some notes in Tifa's chart. "The doctor will write up your discharge papers as soon as he makes his rounds and you can go."

"Thank you," Tifa told the nurse before she exited.

It was not long before Tifa was free to go. When they left the hospital Tifa asked when Reeve was sending someone to pick up Miles. Cloud had no other choice but to inform her of Mile's escape and decided what their next step was. Tifa looked a little upset with the news but otherwise took it better than Cloud anticipated. Maybe she was listening to the doctor's orders to avoid stress.

"We should go see if Reeve is still in Edge," Cloud suggested. "Maybe he has some new information."

Tifa agreed and they made their way towards the town's exit. They were walking across the main bridge when they saw Reno and Tseng standing outside the mayor's office. Reno waved them over when he spotted them walking by.

"You two headin' out?" Reno asked them.

Tifa nodded yes.

"We're going to see if Reeve is still in Edge," she told the redhead.

"He's there. He just called to tell us the peacekeepers arrived with Genesis this morning."

"They have Genesis? What about Weiss?" Tifa asked.

"No Weiss abandoned him in Nibelheim so Reeve sent some guys there to go get him. The director was about to go there if you want a ride."

Cloud and Tifa accepted the ride from the Turk leader. They followed him outside town to the waiting helicopter. It did not take long for them to arrive at the airfield. As they exited the aircraft and walked towards the town they were surprised to see all the damage the city suffered.

Parts of the city were still in ruins when they arrived and the town was undergoing extensive reconstruction. Tifa didn't even want to know how many casualties there were. By the sight of the damage she presumed the numbers were high. The headquarters itself suffered extensive damage and had rubble surrounding it. Similar to what was seen at the Junon location.

Tifa decided to go to 7th Heaven to check on Denzel and Marlene while Cloud and Tseng went to the WRO headquarters to talk to Reeve. When they entered the building they went through security and Cloud followed Tseng towards Reeve's location. Reeve was in a workshop talking with a WRO technician next to the mako chamber holding Genesis. They turned away from their conversation when the two entered the room.

Reeve smiled.

"Good, you brought Cloud with you," he told Tseng.

Cloud walked up to Genesis who was floating in the mako chamber. His body looked lifeless with his head slumped over and his eyes closed.

"Is he alive?" Cloud asked.

"We think so," Reeve informed him. "Have either of you seen Vincent?"

"Not since last night," Tseng replied. "He went to search for Miles."

Cloud was surprised to hear Vincent was in Healen last night. He must have met up with the Turks after he went back to the hospital.

"I've been trying to call him but his phone is off. I have a team posted in Nibelhiem waiting to see if Weiss or Miles return but still no sign of them," Reeve updated the two.

"What do you plan to do with him?" Cloud asked turning away from the Mako Chamber and towards the commissioner.

"We'll have doctors look at him to assess his injuries. We are hoping Miles or Weiss will come looking for him." Reeve informed Cloud. He then turned towards Tseng. "Our medical team will need some information from you about Genesis."

Reeve himself knew very little about Genesis and the other Jenova projects. He was only the director of city planning when Genesis turned against Shinra and even as the head of urban development the other executives and the former president Shinra would leave him out of anything that didn't involve his department. Even when it did involve his department they usually just ignored his recommendations anyway.

Tseng walked over towards Cloud and inspected Genesis.

"What do they want to know?" Tseng asked Reeve while he was looking in at the unconscious man inside.

"I think they just want to know if you have any information regarding his medical history and…" Reeve paused when he noticed the expression change on Tseng's face.

"Is something wrong?" he asked the Turk.

"I don't think this is Genesis," Tseng informed him turning to face Reeve and Cloud.

"How can you tell?" Cloud asked. It looked exactly like the man he fought in the Mako Excavation Facility and Junon. He even had the cut on his face that Cloud gave him when they were fighting earlier. If Tseng was right then the man he was fighting this whole time was not the real Genesis.

Tseng turned back towards the fake Genesis and pointed at his hair.

"This man is showing signs of degradation. The real Genesis was cured of degradation years ago."

"So he was a copy all along?" Cloud asked.

"It appears so." Tseng walked towards Reeve and Cloud.

"I wonder if Weiss knew the man he helped was not the real Genesis," Reeve questioned. This could explain why Weiss had not yet returned to Nibelhiem. "It seems like we are back to square one," he said sounding frustrated, "and we have no idea where they are or what they have planned."

"If they even have a plan," Cloud added.

Cloud did not think they were able to plan this far ahead. So far they had put a stop to their plan to blow up the WRO buildings and they rescued Tifa and Shelke. Plus Cloud did not think Miles and Genesis would have been able to anticipate Tifa shooting the fake Genesis. He did wonder what the real Genesis up to if they were fighting a Genesis copy this whole time.

"We don't even know what is motivating Genesis. Does he have a grudge against Shinra like Miles? I don't even know what connects him to Deepground." Reeve asked. He knew little about his connection with Deepground. Reeve looked towards Tseng wondering if he had any answers.

"Many SOLDIERs have a connection to Deepground in a way. It used to be a medical facility for injured SOLDIERs. They would be sent there for care and rehabilitation but overtime it went underground and the SOLDIER's that were sent there never returned to regular duty. They became elitist and would experiment on themselves; some using Genesis cells. Although all this was encouraged by the late president Shinra but I do not think Genesis has the same hatred towards Shinra as Miles." Tseng informed them.

"Maybe Genesis was just using Miles to help him revive Weiss," Cloud suggested.

"And Miles needed Genesis' copies to help him retrieve the huge materia," Reeve added. They were never able to recover any huge materia so they wondered if Miles still had plans for it.

Cloud was starting to get frustrated. They had more questions than answers. They could stand there and theorize all day but it was not getting them any closer to finding Genesis, Weiss or Miles. He decided to go check in on Tifa and the children. He was curious to see if their home was one of the many damaged from the attack anyways.

"I am going home to check in," he informed Reeve and Tseng. "Let me know if you hear anything."

Cloud exited the WRO headquarters and walked a few blocks towards 7th Heaven. Cloud was relieved to see their neighborhood was not as damaged as other areas. There were a few buildings with some minor damage nearby but the 7th Heaven was unscathed.

When Cloud entered his home he was greeted by Marlene and Denzel who were happy to see him. He wondered if Tifa told them they might not be staying for long. He felt bad for leaving for so long and then return only to depart again.

"Cloud!" Marlene yelled giving him a big hug when he entered. "How was your trip?" she asked him.

"Good," he lied to her. "I am glad to see you two are okay." He changed the subject.

"Nanaki has been taking good care of us," she informed him. "Tifa told us that Yuffie and Shelke are okay. We were really worried. They went out to help people when the city was attacked and never came back. We looked everywhere for them after the attack. Have you heard from papa?"

Marlene was so excited she was going a mile a minute.

"He went to Corel to help the citizens. I'm sure he will be back as soon as possible," he assured the girl.

"Do you know who was behind the attacks?" Denzel asked Cloud.

"Yes, but we are still looking for them," Cloud informed Denzel. He wasn't going to lie to them about that but did not want to go into details. "Where's Tifa and Nanaki?" he asked.

"In the kitchen," the two children said simultaneously.

Cloud proceeded into the kitchen with the two children following. Tifa was doing dishes and having a discussion with Red XIII who was sitting on the floor nearby. They both stopped talking when Cloud and the children entered the room.

"How was your meeting with Reeve?" Tifa asked.

"Not as promising as we hoped," Cloud informed her without going into too much detail.

Upon hearing this a worried look appeared on Tifa's face. She wanted to discuss this further but they needed to wait until the children were gone. She finished washing the dishes and Cloud proceeded to dry them while she started making lunch. The two children started to set the table.

Sensing something was wrong Nanakin changed the subject.

"Did Denzel and Marlene tell you they helped out after the attack on Edge?" he asked them.

"No, how did you help out?" Tifa asked the children smiling.

Marlene stopped setting the table to look at Tifa.

"We brought water and bandages to injured people until helped arrived and Denzel helped with some of the rebuilding." Marlene said excited to be telling Tifa.

"I only helped unload some materials; I didn't build anything," Denzel said being modest. He was never one to brag.

"That's great! I'm so proud of you two for helping out," Tifa stopped to praise the children and then went back to preparing the food.

It didn't take long for everyone to eat the lunch Tifa made. After they finished eating the two children left the house to go see if anyone in the city needed any help with the rebuilding. Cloud, Tifa and Nanakin stayed in the kitchen to talk about Cloud's meeting with Reeve.

Cloud informed Tifa that the Genesis she shot was really a Genesis copy. Tifa was not sure how to take the news. She really didn't care if he was the real Genesis or not; it was still the man who put her and Cloud through hell. She was more upset with the idea that Genesis, Miles and Weiss were still free and they had no idea where they were.

Nanakin on the other hand was surprised to hear about Tifa's actions and they proceeded to update him on everything that had happened so far involving Miles and Genesis. Although they did omit a lot of the personal information and some details surrounding Tifa's time as their hostage. The feline was silent after listening to Cloud and Tifa fill him in.

Talking about everything they went through over the last few days was starting to stir suppressed emotions in Tifa. Although there was a lot of uncertainty regarding their next course of action she was determined to try to maintain a positive outlook like her old self and make the most of her time at home with Cloud and the children.

Shortly after their conversation Nanakin excused himself to go take a nap in the other room leaving Cloud and Tifa sitting at the kitchen table. Tifa could tell Cloud seemed a bit more tranquil now that he was at home, just like her, but she also knew all this uncertainty was bothering him just as much as it was bothering her. There was a few minutes of silence before either of them spoke.

"How are you feeling?" Cloud asked Tifa with a concerned looked.

"A lot better now that we're home," Tifa informed him forcing a smile.

Physically she felt great but her mind felt like it was being pulled in a thousand different directions. She didn't think talking about it was going to help either. Tifa knew if she told him everything she was feeling right now it would just worry Cloud more.

"How are you feeling about all this?" She asked him in return.

"I donno," Cloud told her truthfully.

Like Tifa he had all kinds of thoughts running through his head right now. He was thankful Tifa and all their friends were okay after everything that had happened but at the same time he felt defeated because the people who caused them so much suffering were still free and possibly planning against them. Not to mention the worries that come with the uncertainty of being a father and not knowing how his unborn child will turn out considering everything it had been through before it was even born.

Tifa reached out and placed her hands on Cloud's hand resting on the table. It was like she knew what he was thinking and was trying to comfort him. They sat there together for a few minutes until the silence was broken by the sound of Cloud's phone ringing.

He let go of Tifa's hand and reached into his pocket.

"Hello," Cloud said answering his phone. He was silent as he listened to the person on the other line. "Yes, we'll be there," he told them.

Cloud closed his phone and looked at Tifa. "It was Reeve. He said Weiss was spotted near Nibelhiem. Cid will be at the airfield in an hour to pick us up."

Tifa nodded in agreement and left the room to go upstairs to take a quick shower and get a change of clothes, Cloud followed suit. After getting freshened up they found Nanakin napping in the living room. They woke him up to let him know that they were leaving again. Then Tifa and Cloud left to go find the children.

They located Denzel and Marlene a few blocks over helping some of their friends with the cleanup of their homes. Tifa and Cloud were sorry to see that other families they knew very well had their homes damaged by the attack. They wanted to help but had other priorities. They told themselves if their neighbors were still repairing the damage when they returned they would assist as much as possible. They told Marlene and Denzel they were leaving and gave them each a big hug promising to be back as soon as possible. Then they made their way across town to the airfield where the Shera was waiting for them.

When they boarded the ship they were greeted by Cid and his crew. Cid told them that he just came from Corel and Barret was in the lounge getting some rest. He told them that Barret had been working non-stop helping with the Corel rebuild after they located the explosive device at the WRO office.

"Are we waiting for Reeve?" Cloud asked the Capitan.

"Nah, he said he needs to stay in Edge to work on some stuff. Are you two ready to go?" Cid asked them.

Cloud and Tifa nodded yes and they all proceeded to the bridge to prepare for takeoff. Shortly after Barret joined them on the bridge.

Cloud and Tifa filled them in on their time in Healen leaving out the part about Tifa being in the hospital. They did not want to worry their friends. They knew telling them would cause more questions and they did not want to go into much detail. There was not much talking amongst them as they made their way towards Cloud and Tifa's hometown.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Mt. Nibel Pt.1

It did not take them long to reach Nibelhiem. The aircraft landed outside the small town and they all exited the ship. Cloud was relieved to see his bike exactly where he left it. When they entered they were greeted by WRO soldiers who had taken over the small abandoned town.

"Sir," one of the peacekeepers said to Cid saluting him. "The commissioner wanted me to brief you on the situation. After we removed the unconscious subject from the manor basement my team and I took cover in the abandoned homes waiting for the targets to appear. At 1300 hours our snipers spotted two men matching the suspects' descriptions bypass the town and head towards the base of the mountain. We did a quick sweep of the area but were unable to locate them. I informed the commissioner and he advised us to fall back and wait for you to show up."

"Thank you Sargent," Cid told the officer and turned towards his comrades. "So it sounds like they headed towards the reactor. The Sheria can get us up there but she can't land. We will have to jump and call for her when we're finished."

"Sounds good to me," Barret told his friend and the others nodded in agreement.

They all headed back towards the airship and took off for the top of the mountain. They flew low and along the way they kept an eye out for anyone walking towards the reactor but didn't see anything. When they reached the reactor they did one flyby to see if there was any activity outside.

They were surprised to see a Shinra helicopter parked in front of the reactor and could make out two people standing next to it. They knew exactly who it was from the fiery red hair on one of them. Seeing that the coast was clear Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Cid jumped from the airship as it hovered a few meters above ground.

When they touched ground they could see that the two Turks were busy unloading small crates. Reno and Rude stopped what they were doing when the four landed.

"What are you two doin' here?" Barret asked them.

"Vincent called us and told us they were here," Reno informed them.

"What's in the crates?" Cid walked a few steps towards the cargo trying to make out what it was. Whatever it was the whole aircraft was full of it.

An evil grin appeared on Reno's face.

"Our specialty," he said as he kicked the lid off the crate nearest to him exposing red TNT sticks.

"Who authorized this?" Cid asked picking up a stick of dynamite.

Reno looked at them a little puzzled.

"He didn't tell you? Right after we got the call from Vincent, Reeve called us and told us to blow the place up."

"So what do we do now? Help them blow the place up?" Cid asked his friends a little surprised Reeve did not mention this important piece of information.

"We sent Vincent a message telling him to shut off the power. We can't blow the place up until the reactor is shut off or it might spill mako like a running faucet. Since the power is still on and Vincent is nowhere to be seen either he didn't get the message or he is still inside." Reno informed them.

"You two keep setting up the explosives," Cid told the Turks then turned towards the others.

"Why don't we split up into groups?" Cid suggested to Cloud, Tifa and Barret. "One will stay to help set up the explosives with these guys while three of us go in to look for Vincent and shut off the power."

Tifa knew what she wanted to do. All she could think of was finding Miles and the real Genesis as soon as possible. She had a score to settle with the two and wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"I want to go in," she told her friends.

"I'll go too," Cloud said following Tifa.

"Why don't you help with the explosives Barret," Cid suggested. "Since you got experience blowin' up reactors and all." Referring to his time as Avalanche leader years ago.

Barret reluctantly agreed. Although Cid was technically right it was not a time in his life he was particularly proud of and didn't appreciate being reminded of it.

The three made their way inside the reactor while Barret helped the Turks unload the rest of the crates. When they entered the reactor it was exactly the same as Cloud remembered from years ago. They walked across the first catwalk and were just about to climb down the ladder leading to the chamber below when everything around them suddenly went dark.

"Well I guess Vincent found the off switch," Cloud and Tifa could hear Cid say in the darkness.

Vincent was standing outside the main chamber inside the Mt. Nibel reactor quietly listening to the conversation inside. After he left Healen it did not take him long to track down Weiss and Miles by air. He debated whether to confront them or follow them. He chose the latter because he believed they had something planned and wanted to find out what it was. He had been feeling uneasy the last few days regarding the events leading up to Miles and Genesis' capture. It seemed too easy. Maybe that's why he was not surprised when the two bypassed Nibelhiem and made their way towards the mountain reactor where Genesis was waiting for them.

Despite his intuition on everything he was still surprised when he heard Genesis' voice inside the main chamber. Having all three of their adversaries in the same location he was grateful he called the Turks; they were going to need all the help they could get.

At that moment Vincent felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He opened it to see a text message from Reno.

'How fitting,' he thought to himself after reading the message. Then he proceeded to go find the reactor's power source.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Mt. Nibel pt. 2

Miles and Weiss had just entered the reactor's main chamber when Weiss stopped in his tracks upon seeing the real Genesis standing on the staircase between the rows of pods.

"Brother?" Weiss said a little surprised and bewildered.

Genesis shot Miles an irritated look.

"Oh yes," Miles said realizing what the angry look was for. "I forgot to mention; that other Genesis was a copy and this is your real brother. That's why I didn't want to stop in Nibelhiem." He informed Weiss nonchalantly and walked up the stairs towards the room marked Jenova.

He opened the door and inside the room was a make-shift work station which consisted of a table, chair and a computer with multiple monitors that were all turned off. He looked around his station and frowned.

"What's the point of taking the time to set up the security cameras if you don't turn on the monitors?" He asked Genesis sounding annoyed.

"Relax," Genesis called out to Miles as he walking down the steps towards Weiss. "Nobody knows I'm here. After the Turks showed up looking for Cloud the other day I have not seen anyone since. Luckily they didn't have time to inspect the room before they were called away. Surprisingly your distraction worked and you revived Weiss like you said you would." He put his hand on Weiss shoulder and smiled. "I must admit I had my doubts about your convoluted plan," he said to the scientist.

"If you haven't noticed," Miles called out from the room sounding a little insulted, "my plans always work."

"What plan?" Weiss asked Genesis starting to get a little angry at the fact he was not trusted with the truth from the beginning. He was Weiss the immaculate not some pawn in their scheme.

"Don't worry," Genesis reassured him sensing his anger. "I told my copy to protect you at all costs. You will understand once you see what I have planned."

He motioned to the mako chambers in the room.

"More copies?" Weiss asked not sounding very impressed.

"Better," Genesis smiled. "It took a long time but I was able to recover a few of our injured brothers and sisters who were sealed in chambers before the fall of Shinra. We've healed them using my DNA and concentrated mako. They will be as strong as you and I. Perfect additions to our family."

Weiss smiled at the thought of Deepground still being alive and well. He considered the members of Deepground a far superior species and he hated seeing them reduced to just a hand full of followers.

"When will they be ready?" he asked.

"They're ready now," Miles called out to them still in the room. He was leaning on the table working and half-listening to the conversation. "This was a long process taking months and when I heard of the WRO's plan to destroy the reactors we had to distract them to buy us some time."

Weiss was very happy with this plan but he had a lot of questions. He walked up to the first mako pod in the front row closest to him. He looked in to see a young female with wavy dark hair and lightly bronzed skin. Weiss could make out a few faint scars on the side of her face and arms. She was wearing SOLDIER 1st class armor and uniform but had the Deepground crest.

Weiss looked through the next pod to see a tall bulky man with dirty blond shoulder length hair. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He was wearing a Deepground body suit with no armor and had a long coat over his clothes.

The last occupied pod on the other side of the stairs had a young slender man with short spiky brown hair and was wearing the Deepground uniform and body armor.

All three of them were floating unconscious. He did not recognize any of them but Deepground was a large and made up of many different groups with the Tsviets being the smallest and most elite amongst them.

Since he was defeated after the Omega incident he had no idea how many of his fellow Deepground members survived but he heard the fake Genesis elude to Deepground being alive and well. He made a mental note to ask Genesis about this later.

Weiss looked at Genesis.

"Are you sure they will join us after all this time?" he asked.

The original Deepground was full of strong independent SOLDIERs. They had very little loyalty to any one person and would constantly attempt to overthrow the leaders; he was especially guilty of this. It was so bad the Restrictors had to use implanted microchips in order to control him and the other Tsviets.

"The same way the Restrictors controlled you; with a microchip," Miles answered matter-of-factly. He was now standing at the top of the stairs looking down at them with his arms crossed.

Weiss laughed at the scientist. He hated humans and was not very fond of Miles. If it wasn't for the fact that he was helping them, Weiss would have killed the smug bastard by now.

"Like the chip you implanted in Cloud? That worked out well," Weiss said sarcastically.

If the chip could not work on a fake SOLDIER like Cloud it would not be powerful enough to stop his fellow Deepground members.

Miles shot him a dirty look and walked down the steps towards the two.

"That chip was Hojo's primitive design and it had been implanted in him for years. Although it was probably more effected when first implanted it appears overtime Cloud had adapted to it and learned how to overcome the mind control feature. I should add that the remote feature I designed was doing a stand-up job at frying his brain before it was destroyed."

Miles turned to first pod with the woman inside it. He checked the pressure valve next to the pod then turned back towards Weiss and continued talking.

"My design is based on the microchip that the Restrictor implanted in you. It is designed to prevent the subject from harming its master, in their case Genesis."

"Did you implant a virus like they did with me?" Weiss asked. When the he was under the control of the Restrictor he was implanted with a chip that released a toxin when he murdered his master but luckily Weiss found a way to overcome it.

Miles nodded yes.

"Of course," he replied.

Miles was not dumb. He was creating very powerful humans and needed a failsafe in case they turned against them. He understood the importance of learning from other's mistakes. The only difference was his poison would cause instant death to even the most powerful creature. It took Miles a long time to prefect the design the Restrictor's used on Weiss. In Weiss' case the microchip would prevent the subject from harming the master but if they did manage to rebel the poison would only release if the subject killed the master. Miles did not like this idea so he adjusted it so every time the subject even attempted to attack their master not only would they experience pain they would also risk releasing the toxin causing instant death. He figured this would be a greater deterrent to the subject and was little risk to master. In Weiss' case he killed the Restrictor not caring if he lived or died. With Miles' design that would never happen as the subject would die before it got to that point.

Miles walked back up the stairs towards his makeshift office. He glanced at the screens to see a Shinra helicopter parked out front of the reactor. On another screen he noticed the Turks arming explosives in the back of the building and on another one Cloud, Tifa and Cid were outside walking towards the reactor's entrance.

"It looks like we have company," he called out informing Genesis and Weiss.

Miles was watching his adversaries on the screen starting to form a plan of action. A big smile grew on his face as he thought of a perfect way to turn this situation around.

"We should free our comrades," Genesis suggested to Weiss.

Miles walked out of the room and walked down the stairs next to Weiss.

"After you release them I need you to do something for me," Miles told the Tsviet.

Weiss and Genesis were about to walk towards the pods when everything around them went pitch black. A few seconds later the emergency lights came on consisting of just a few dim yellow lights and red lights marking the exit.

"Now what?" Miles asked annoyed looking around.

Genesis and Weiss started to manually open the pods. Due to having no power they were unable to drain the mako prior to opening them causing the green liquid to pour all over the floor.

The SOLDIER's instantly awoke when the pods opened. They stepped out of their pods and looked around trying to figure out where they were. All three of them smiled when they noticed the familiar face of Genesis standing before them.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – Mt. Nibel pt. 3

Cloud, Tifa and Cid were able to make their way down to the main bridge using the emergency lighting. The lights around the bridge leading to the mako chamber room were a little brighter and Tifa could see all the way across.

Being in this room reminded her of the time she watched her father die in her arms on this very bridge after Sephiroth burnt down her hometown. Although the memory no longer brought tears to her eyes she would never be able to forget. She was glad this reactor was finally going to be destroyed. It didn't take long for her wondering thoughts to be brought back to her main objective which was tracking down Miles and Genesis.

Suddenly three entities emerged from the main room on the other side of the bridge. Thanks to her improved eyesight Tifa could make them out in the dim lighting. They were two unknown men and an unknown woman all wielding weapons.

Spotting them the dark haired male and the woman jumped high into the air towards them with their swords drawn. The big man rushed towards them on the narrow catwalk with his huge sword raised high above his head.

Cid and Cloud drew their weapons while Tifa raised her fists. She was expecting to be attacked first by the big man running towards her due to being closest to him but to her surprise the man avoided her and went straight towards Cloud. She turned around to see Cloud fighting the big man and the woman simultaneously while Cid was blocking blows from the dark haired man with his spear. It was like their attackers didn't even know she was there.

She was about to go to help Cloud when she stopped and looked towards the entrance to the mako chamber room. Although she knew she should help her friends the thought of finally confronting Miles was drawing her towards that room and the feeling was starting to overpower her. Without looking back Tifa suddenly took off across the catwalk leaving her friends fighting a one-sided battle.

"Tifa!" Cloud called out to her in the midst of fending off two attackers.

"Where's she goin'?" Cid called out to Cloud using his spear to throw back the dark-haired man.

"I don't know but I need to get to her," Cloud said blocking the man's blow with his sword while kicking the woman in the torso causing her to fly a few feet back.

"Leave them to me," Cid told Cloud. "You go find Tifa."

He planned to draw the SOLDIER's outside the reactor where they had reinforcements but first he needed a distraction. Cid then proceeded to jump away from the dark-haired man onto the catwalk above and lit a cigarette.

"Hey, up here!" he called out to the three SOLDIER's.

The two fighting Cloud did not pay much attention to him but the dark haired man was about to jump up towards the captain when Cid pulled out a stick of dynamite and lit it with his smoke causing the dark-haired man to stop in his tracks.

The other two SOLDIER's had Cloud surrounded on the narrow bridge with one on either side of him. Seeing what Cid was doing Cloud jumped just as his two attackers rushed him. As soon as Cloud jumped Cid threw the dynamite causing it to land in between the two SOLIDERs. It exploded instantly causing part of the catwalk to break away with smoke and debris surrounded them.

The dark haired man and woman managed to jump up onto piping above right before the TNT detonated. The bigger man was a little slower to react and was thrown off the bridge falling down towards the mako pit below. He was able to catch himself by driving his big sword into the wall but it was a long ways down and Cid was hoping he was trapped. This distraction allowed Cloud the opportunity to escape to find Tifa.

"Come get me!" Cid shouted to the pissed off SOLDERs before running towards the exit. They took the bait and proceeded to follow him.

* * *

Reno, Rude and Barret had just finished arming the explosives and were walking back to the helicopter when Cid came running out of the reactor entrance. Seeing them in the distance Cid started running towards them as fast as he could.

"Get ready!" Cid shouted at them while running and waving his spear.

The others didn't have time to react before a man and woman emerged from the reactor. Seeing Cid they rushed towards him with their weapons drawn.

Barret started shooting at the attackers while Reno and Rude drew their guns. When he reached his comrades Cid stopped and turned to face his aggressors.

"What the F&amp;#$K Cid?!" Barret called out to his friend. "Where the hell did they come from?"

"I donno!" Cid yelled back. "They just came out of nowhere and followed me out here."

Then suddenly the big blond haired man with the large sword rushed out of the reactor and joined his fellow Deepground SOLDIER's in battle.

The dark-haired man and the woman seemed to be focused on Cid while the big man rushed the other three. Reno, Rude and Barret tried their best at firing upon all three of them but they would just dodge the bullets and continue attacking.

No matter how much they fired at them they could not get a hit in and Cid was not having any luck either. He could not get a single blow in; all he could do was block their relentless attacks.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Reno called out to the group after firing a shot.

"I got an idea but we are going to need to create some space between us and them in a minute," Cid yelled to the redhead after blocking a blow from the woman's sword with his spear.

Cid leaped into the air narrowly avoiding a strike from the dark haired man. When he landed he was a few feet away from the attackers. The other three tried to draw their attention away from Cid by firing more shots which appeared to be working. Cid pulled out his phone and put it to his ear while the female SOLDIER rushed towards him with her sword raised. Cid blocked the attack from the woman with his spear in one hand while talking on the phone with the other. After talking for a few seconds he closed his phone, put it back in his pocket and continue fending off the female SOLDIER.

Reno, Rude and Barret were a few feet away from Cid and his attackers when Barret noticed the Shera approaching in the distance. Barret knew exactly what was coming.

"Get ready to run," he told Reno and Rude as they were reloading their guns.

When the Shera was almost overhead Barret started to back away from the fight and the Turks followed. Suddenly multiple giant guns emerged from the side of the airship and pointed directly at the SOLDIER's and Cid. Cid jumped up high in the air just as the airship opened fire sending an array of bullets, missiles and explosives towards the aggressors who didn't have enough time to react.

Cid landed right next to his friends while they watched the Shera bombard their enemies. The explosions caused as lot of smoke and debris to fill the surrounding area.

"Damn Cid, you're meaning to tell me you were able to do that at any time?" Reno asked admiring the destruction.

"Yeah," Cid told him as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"Do you know how many times this week we could have used this?" Reno informed him.

Cid took a drag of his smoke and paused few seconds to think about that before he answered.

"Yeah, I guess you got a point," he agreed before taking another drag.

* * *

When Tifa entered the main chamber she came face to face with Miles standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Seeing him caused a wave of adrenaline to rush through her body. She lunged for him but as soon as she was less than a foot away from the scientist a wave of pain rushed from her head down her body. It was the exact same pain she felt in Healen but more intense. The pain was so powerful this time it made her stop in her tracks and fall to her knees. Miles just stood there like he was expecting this to happen.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Miles said looking down at her. "I should have warn you before but I have implanted something in you that prevents you from harming me. You actually risk releasing a deadly poison the more you try to attack me so I would stop if I were you."

Tifa heard what he said but did not respond; she was in too much pain. Her head was still throbbing and she needed a few seconds to regain her composure. She was furious but there was nothing she could do about it right now. She was not going to risk her life trying to hurt this evil man. She glared up at him outraged and slowly tried to pull herself up.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She snapped as soon as she was back on her feet.

"I really didn't want to do this but I had a feeling you weren't going to appreciate everything I did for you," Miles said sincerely.

Before Tifa had a chance to respond Cloud ran into the room. He was surprised to see Tifa just standing there with her back to him talking to Miles.

"So glad you can join us," Miles said looking at Cloud with a smile.

Tifa turned to look at Cloud with a troubled expression on her face.

"Get away from her," Cloud warned Miles raising his sword.

"Why?" Miles shrugged. "I'm not going to hurt her. I was just about to thank her for all her help."

This whole time Genesis had been hiding overhead listing to the conversation. "You were right, she has been a great help to us over the last few days," he told Miles flying down and landing a few feet away from Cloud. At first he was not sure about Miles plans for Tifa but after seeing how well it worked out he was impressed.

"You see Cloud, she had been helping us this whole time. Dropping you hints about the satellite and explosives, her little episode in Healen when she attacked me; although she didn't realize it she was doing exactly what we wanted her to do." The scientist explained.

Tifa's escape from the excavation facility was planned this whole time. Miles intentionally let her regain consciousness in the mako chamber so he could drop her hints about the fake explosives in order to help them on their wild goose chase. However, not everything went according to plan. The Healen bomb was very real and he was planning on detonating it until the Turks showed up. Luckily he was able to provoke Tifa enough to have a little episode to buy him some time in order to stay in Healen until Weiss could rescue him.

"I'm sorry," Tifa said to Cloud looking upset. Although she had no clue she was helping them she felt bad for allowing herself to be played so easily.

Miles took a step towards Tifa causing her to instantly back away from him. She wanted nothing more to hurt him but she was afraid if she was too close to him she would set off her chip. With the way the pain had been increasing in intensity she feared what the next one would feel like if it happened again.

As soon as Tifa backed away from Miles fearfully Cloud rushed him with his sword raised. Before Cloud could reached the scientist Genesis stepped in engaging him in battle. Tifa wanted to help Cloud but she didn't know if the chip worked on Genesis too. Less than a minute later the four of them felt a low rumble shake the reactor. It only lasted for a few seconds before it stopped.

Genesis and Cloud hardly noticed and continued battling but Miles took it as a signal. He pulled out a green materia from his pocket and placed it in the bangle he was wearing. Tifa was watching the battle but noticed him out of the corner of her eye. He was about to cast something on Cloud who was too busy battling to notice and Tifa knew she had to stop him.

"Cloud!" Tifa warned him then she ran over grabbing Miles' arm just as he was about to case the spell. Instantly an unbearable pain rushed threw her body as soon as she made contact with the scientist. As she tightened her grip on Miles' arm the pain in her head intensified. The pain was so great she couldn't do anything else other than hold his arm to prevent him from using the materia. Miles was trying franticly to free himself from her grip to prevent her suffering but she would not let go. Then instantly Tifa fell to the floor unconscious.

"Tifa!" Cloud yelled as soon as he noticed her hit the flood.

Genesis used Cloud's distraction to his advantage. He impaled Cloud's right shoulder with his sword forcing him to continue the fight or risk death.

Miles was not expecting this. He just wanted to use his time materia to stop Cloud trapping him in the reactor. He looked down at the unconscious Tifa and looked around franticly. He then ran up the stairs into the Jenova room and starting looking for something on his desk. He knew he only had seconds to administer the antidote. He really didn't want to see her die like this and just wanted to use the poison as a deterrent. After a second of searching he found what he was looking for and ran back down the stairs.

Vincent had just heard the commotion in the main chamber and walked in to see an injured Cloud fighting Genesis and Miles running down the stairs towards an unconscious Tifa. He could see that Miles had something sharp in his hand. Thinking the scientist was about to harm Tifa he fired a shot at him hitting him in the torso. This caused Miles to fall backwards and slid down a few stairs before stopping himself. Trying to catch himself on the stairs the syringe holding the antidote shattered in his hand.

Vincent then took a shot at Genesis who dodged the bullet. The winged man then jumped away from Cloud with his sword raised. Cloud tried to raise his sword but it was obvious his wound was making it difficult. Cloud was standing next to Vincent by the entrance with Genesis standing closer to the stairs.

Then suddenly the ground shook again but this time with a lot more force and a loud rumble sound could be heard from under them. The reactor was shaking with so much force that parts of the reactor were following down around them. If the reactor continued shaking like this it felt like it was going to collapse very soon.

Suddenly a big section of the ceiling consisting of piping and debris fell between Genesis and Cloud separating the two. Genesis took this opportunity to rush over to Miles who was sitting next to Tifa leaning on the stairs holding his wound.

"We are taking her with us," Miles told Genesis changing the plan.

Genesis reluctantly agreed. He then proceeded to pick them up, one in each arm, and take off flying towards a maintenance latch located above them. He had to dodge falling debris as it fell. He was lucky they were both very light or he wouldn't have been able to make it.

Cloud tried to find a way around the blockage narrowly missing a big piece of rubble that fall from above. Cloud found an opening and looked past the debris to where he last spotted Tifa only to discover that she was gone along with Miles and Genesis. The reactor was still shaking rapidly and piping and metal continued to fall around them.

"Cloud, we have to get out of here before it collapses," Vincent warned him.

"I can't leave without Tifa," Cloud told his friend.

"They most likely took her with them," Vincent informed him. The ex-Turk knew they were behind this using it as a cover to escape. If they left now there was a chance they could catch up with them.

Agreeing with his friend Cloud and Vincent rushed out of the reactor as fast as they could.

* * *

Weiss managed to use the back exit while all the commotion was going on out front. Although he did not like the scientist he was pleased with his plan. The Turks planted a lot of powerful explosives in one single location in the back of the reactor. So Weiss' job was to use the quake materia Miles gave him to shake the reactor as a warning. Then 5 minutes later he was to use the quake spell again to continuously shake the reactor until he saw Genesis exit. Weiss was impressed with Miles' materia; it was the most powerful quake materia he has ever used.

Then as soon as Genesis exited the reactor he was to set off the explosives and retreat through the exit into the mountain located behind the reactor. If everything went according to plan Cloud, and hopefully some of his friends, would be trapped inside the reactor when it detonated.

Weiss didn't like the idea of leaving his fellow Deepground members fighting a battle out front but they knew the plan and was told to retreat as soon as the reactor was destroyed. He then proceeded to hike through the mountain by himself to meet his brother and Miles at the agreed upon location.

* * *

Less than a few seconds after Vincent and Cloud exited the reactor it went up in a big explosion and engulfed in flames.

Barret, Cid and the Turks were all standing next to the helicopter with the three SOLDIER's propped up against each other unconscious, battered looking and secured with chains. They were all startled to see the explosion and this prompted Reno to check the detonator to make sure he didn't press anything by accident.

Instantly Vincent transformed into chaos and took off into the sky while Cloud ran over to the others.

"Where's Tifa?" Cid asked with a concerned look.

"They have her," Cloud informed his friends. "We need to look for her before they get too far."

With that the Turks and Cloud took off in their helicopter to go search while Cid and Barret waited for the Shrea to arrive so they could load the prisoners and help with the searching.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Wednesday

19:05

It was late evening when Reeve decided to stop reading and closed the file in front of him. It was the end of another long day in the middle of a very long week and he was exhausted. He put the file away as he reached into his bottom desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of Saki. He was not the type to drink, especially at work, but a week like this called for something strong. He proceeded to pull out a glass, filled it halfway and drank it in one gulp. He stood up from his desk, walked over to the the balcony door and stepped out. His office overlooked the ocean and the cool breeze was welcoming on such as warm day. As he stood outside watching the crimson sky grow dark over the sea he couldn't help but think about everything that had happened over the last few months.

It had been eight months since they destroyed the Mt. Nibel reactor and Tifa went missing. During the first three weeks they all helped search for her but it was like they disappeared into thin air. They checked every city and town even the abandoned town of Modehiem. They looked in every building and location that ever had a link to Shinra or Deepground with no success. They even checked uninhabited areas like the Midgar ruins and the Northern Crater.

Overtime many of their friends had to abandon searching to get back to their responsibilities. Barret had Marlene and Corel while Reeve had his organization to run. Reeve felt bad that he was one of the first to give up searching but he told Cloud to call him if he ever needed anything.

After Reeve and Barret left, Cid and Vincent stayed with Cloud for another two weeks. Yuffie joined them as soon as Shelke was discharged from the hospital. Shelke went to stay with her sister in Healen to recover while Barret took Marlene and Denzel to Corel with him after he abandoned the search.

On the fourth week they started to run out of places to look. Cid stopped by Junon to gather supplies when Reeve decided to board the airship to check in on his friends. He would never forget how tired and drained they looked, especially Cloud. It was obvious he was taking this the hardest and rightfully so. Reeve could tell everyone was losing hope and had their lives to get back to but nobody wanted to say anything to Cloud. As if sensing their thoughts he thanked them all for their help and decided to take Fenrir to go look on his own. Everyone offered to continue searching with him but he didn't want to burden them anymore. Reeve hadn't seen Cloud since that day over six months ago.

He would have liked to do more to help his friend but he had been so overwhelmed with his own problems over the last few months. After the attacks on Edge, Junon and Corel the WRO was under pressure to find the people responsible and had been receiving a lot of bad publicity for failing to catch them. They did manage to capture the three SOLDIERs who attacked his friends outside the Mt. Nibel reactor but after weeks of questioning the suspects insisted that they knew nothing of the attacks on the three cities. Although there was no evidence they were involved they were still charged for the crimes. It was believed that holding them responsible would settle the masses who had been growing discontent. Unfortunately, the press got news of the defendants' story and the lack of evidence against them which angered many people who felt they were innocent and made the WRO look incompetent. To try to make things right Reeve tried to ensure they received a fair trial. The trial had commenced last week in Junon and had been flooding the news daily.

To Reeve it felt like the criminals had more citizens supporting them than the WRO right now. Although there were always people who had opposed his organization it seemed that recently the public opinion has been shifting against them. What was once viewed as an army that protected the people was now considered an army that can't protect the people from terrorists and can't even locate the real criminals responsible. After the attacks on his buildings there were many casualties and many of the administrative staff resigned no longer feeling safe in their work environment. Now with the recent protests against them in Junon more WRO personnel were walking out daily. This left the WRO seriously short staffed and he was in the process of a massive hiring with very few people showing interest.

He even had to shut down his smallest office in Corel in order to fill staff in other locations. Since the Corel oil refinery project was finished they no longer needed WRO personnel in that area anyway. With the way things were going Reeve didn't think the World Regenesis Organization could take any more bad publicity.

To make matters worse Barret had been dragging him into his problems with Corel. Since the oil refinery had been producing product Corel had been increasing its transportation of petroleum to cities far away like Edge and Kalm. However, to do this they had to transport the product by sea. The original plan was to use the Junon harbor like every other import but once the environmental activists heard that there was going to be an increase in petroleum products passing through their city they put a stop to it.

Since Junon is an environmentally friendly city that only uses solar, wind and ocean energy many of the citizens oppose all nonrenewable energy sources; especially anything that takes from the planet like coal and oil. Not only had the activists manage to petition the Junon government to boycott Corel from using their harbor they have been actively trying to convince Kalm to boycott the petroleum as well. With the Junon harbor out of the question the new plan was to build a harbor near Kalm but so far the activist had been successful in trying to convince the people of Kalm to reconsider.

For the past week Barret had been trying to pressure Reeve to stop the Junon activists but as long as they were not breaking any laws there is nothing he could do. Junon was a democracy and if the people of Junon decided they did not want to use oil products then there was nothing more he could do. Reeve could understand where the activists were coming from. He was actually surprised that Barret could not sympathize with them since he was once in their shoes when he fought against mako production.

It didn't help the image of his company that he promoted and even invested in the oil refinery project making the Junon citizens look less favorably on the WRO. If things got any worse he was even considering moving the main headquarters to their Edge location since the WRO was starting to feel like it was no longer welcomed in coastal city.

Suddenly Reeve's wondering thoughts were snapped back to real time with a knock at the door. He turned to see Yuffie peek her head into his office and entered as soon as she saw that Reeve was alone. Reeve exited the balcony and walked back over to his desk.

The young ninja was wearing a white blouse and navy blue skirt with knee high boots. She had been working in an administrative position for almost a year now and it still surprised Reeve how professional she could look and act when she tried.

"Another late night?" Yuffie asked sitting down on the chair in front of his desk.

"I don't plan on staying too much longer," Reeve told her sitting back down.

"I was just about to leave and wanted to see if you needed anything else before I go."

"Thanks Yuffie but I am fine. I can't thank you enough for coming to Junon. I know you still have work to finish back in Edge, I really appreciate all your help."

"Think nothing of it Reeve," Yuffie responded shrugging off his compliment. "I know things are getting a little crazy around here. Sorry to report that the latest bunch of applicants are not looking very promising."

Yuffie didn't like working in the Junon location as much as Edge but it was worth it helping out a friend. The Edge office was more modern and new feeling. Since the Junon office was an old renovated Shinra base it felt institutionalized and more Shinra feeling which Yuffie hated.

Since she arrived in Junon, Yuffie had been tasked with the assignment of interviewing anyone who applied for a position with the WRO. They only had ten applicants apply within the last month since the positions were posted with most of them being young men from surrounding communities looking for work as peacekeepers. Unfortunately the last three they hired turned down the job the very next day when they learned of the protests against the organization. Reeve couldn't help but wonder if the protesters pressured them to turn down the position.

"Well if you're recommending anyone you can send me the file in the morning," Reeve advised his young friend. He was really not in the mood to do any more work tonight.

The WRO only had half of the staff it had last year thanks to the attacks eight months ago and the massive walkout. The Junon location suffered the most from the walkout and had to temporarily relocate staff from Edge to Junon so it could at least function with a skeleton crew.

"One of the applicants today use to work for Shinra on the 27th floor. I think she was an assistant or something, it's on her resume." Yuffie informed Reeve trying to give him some positive news.

"That's promising," Reeve commented. They seemed to have the most success hiring ex-Shinra employees since they had the experience and required very little training.

"It's funny how the majority of the people who stuck with us are ex-Shinra. I guess they are used to the bad publicity." Yuffie said in passing not really thinking about what she was implying. As soon as the words came out of her mouth she regretted it. She was just trying to lighten the mood but she felt bad comparing the WRO to a company like Shinra.

"I'm sorry Reeve, I didn't mean it like that," Yuffie tried to apologize.

"That's okay," Reeve reassured his friend. What she said had some truth to it. Reeve was learning the hard way that even when you try to do the right thing and help people you can't please everyone.

"Well it's getting late. I should head back to the Inn," Yuffie informed Reeve. "Don't work too hard, okay?" She gave him a concerned look before getting up from the chair.

"I won't be staying much longer," he assured her. "Have a good night Yuffie." He said before she exited the office.

* * *

19:15

The Junon detention center was a cold and sterile institution. Build only three years ago it was nowhere near as bad as some of the prisons Alex had come across in his lifetime. The worse being the Corel Prison, if you wanted to call it a prison, it was more like a concentration camp.

The young man with the short dark hair got up from his bed and walked over to the thick metal cell door. He peeked through the small opening between the door and the wall.

"Hey James, you up?" the young man yelled through the opening waiting for a response.

"Yeah," he heard the voice of his friend call back from two cells down.

"Remember the time you got yourself stuck in that Corel dump and Henry and I had to come rescue you?" Alex reminisced.

It was almost ten years ago when his friend wasted all his money betting on the chocobos and when he was broke he accused the owner Dio of rigging the races. He even tried to start a fight with the Gold Saucer owner. James had a bad temper and it took five security robots to take him down. Needless to say it earned him a one way ticket to the Corel Prison. Luckily Alex and their friend Henry found out and 'borrowed' a Shinra helicopter to rescue him. He didn't even know if Dio found out about the escape but their boss did and they were suspended for a week.

"Yeah," James replied remembering the event all too well.

"I bet you never thought you'd wish to be back in that dump," Alex commented smiling.

Although the Junon Detention center was cleaner and a lot safer than the Corel Prison it was boring as hell being confined to a little cell 24 hours of the day; with the exception of one hour yard time and shower. At least with the Corel Prison you could walk around and keep up your fighting skills.

Alex could hear James laugh at his comment.

"Yeah, where's a helicopter when you need one?" James joked.

"Shut the hell up!" Alex heard another prisoner yell at the two men from down the range.

"You shut the hell up!" A woman's voice could be heard yelling from the cell across from Alex.

Being only a detention center for prisoners awaiting trial it was common for women and men to be held in the same area since they were all in single cells. The cell range they were on held twenty-five cells with less than half of them occupied.

"Thanks Kat," Alex yelled at the woman.

"No problem sweetie," Katerina replied.

"Bitch," they could hear the other prisoner mumble under his breath.

Before Katerina could respond they were all startled by the sounds of yelling and gunfire coming from another room down the range. Hearing the commotion all the prisoners got up and tried to peek out through the little glass window in their cell doors. After almost a minute of gunfire and yelling there was silence. A few seconds later they could hear footsteps approaching along with the sound of keys rattling.

Being in one of the closest cells Alex was the first to see who it was.

"About time," Alex said recognizing Weiss from the Mt. Nibel reactor. Weiss was with five other men Alex did not recognize and they were all holding guns.

"Who is it?" Alex could hear James yell from his cell not able to see down that far.

"That spikey haired guy from Mt. Nibel," Alex yelled back to his friend as Weiss tried to find the key to his cell. Everything happened so fast at the reactor he never got to find out Weiss' name.

Weiss frowned. He didn't like being referred to as 'that spikey haired guy.'

"Ask him why it took over six months for him to show up!" James yelled out.

"You can ask him yourself in a second," Alex yelled back stepping out of his cell a free man. It was obvious Weiss could hear James but his friend was a little slow sometimes. "Number 3 and 6," Alex said informing Weiss which cells contained his colleges.

Weiss handed the keys to the man next to him directing him to open the doors. The man opened them freeing Katerina and James.

"Hey what about us?" the prisoner in cell number 4 asked.

They all looked at Weiss who shrugged.

"Sure," he said to the man with the keys. Weiss was always a fan of chaos and what better than releasing criminals back into society.

"Not that one," Katerina stopped the man just when he was about to unlock cell number 5.

"Ahhh hey lady, I'm sorry I called you a bitch," the man whined realizing he was not going to be freed.

As soon as the prisoners were freed they all took off towards the entrance Weiss and his men entered from.

"Are we going to follow them?" Alex asked Weiss. It was the only exit since there was a sold cement wall at the other end of the range.

Weiss held out his hand and one of his men handed him a big strange looking gun with a wide barrel. Weiss pointed it at the concrete wall at the end of the range and switched it on. It charged up then a red beam of light burst out of the gun and hit the wall. Everyone around them could feel the heat from the laser like beam. The concrete the beam hit appeared to heat up and melt leaving a perfectly shaped circle.

"I love this thing," Weiss said handing the gun back to his henchman.

The group then proceeded to retreat through the newly created exit leaving the one prisoner alone in his cell.

"Bitch…" the prisoner said out loud after everyone was gone.

* * *

19:25

Less than half an hour after Yuffie left Reeve decided to call it a night. He got up from his desk and walked over to his coatrack putting his suit jacket on. He locked his office door and walked down the empty hallway towards the elevator. He was likely the last one left in the building apart from the night security guard.

Reeve pressed the button to the elevator waiting for it to travel from the ground floor. When it finally reached him he entered. As the elevator descended he looked up at the security camera and noticed that the red light on the camera was not blinking. This meant that the light was either broken or the camera was off. He made a mental note to talk to the night watchman about it on his way out.

When the elevator reached the ground floor it opened and Reeve came face to face with four men dressed as peacekeepers pointing their guns at him.

"What is the meaning –" Reeve started to say but before he could finish his sentence one of the men shot a tranquilizer dart into his shoulder and he immediately fell unconscious.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Thursday

When Reeve woke up he was lying face down on a cold floor. The room was dimly lit but the faint light still irritated his eyes. He tried to ignore the pain lifting his head off the floor looking around. He was in a make shift prison cell in what looked like a big office with a desk and computer in the middle of the room. The only source of light was a small lamp located on the desk. He was in a small cell in the corner of the room surrounded by metal bars. Realizing he was alone in the room he sat up against the wall checking out his surroundings.

As Reeve surveyed the room he couldn't see anything that could provide him clues as to where he was. Even in the dim light he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. As he sat in the cell he couldn't help but get the feeling like he was being watched. That's when he noticed the shadow of something or someone under the desk looking at him from behind the desk chair.

"Hello?" Reeve said wondering if the small shadow was human.

It didn't move or respond to his voice and stayed motionless staring at him. Reeve was sure it was alive because he could see the slight shine of its eyes. Maybe it was a pet dog or something Reeve thought to himself.

Reeve leaned forward and crawled over to the cell bars sticking his hand out trying to get its attention. As soon as Reeve stuck his arm out the shadow took off from the opening through the back of the desk and quickly ran across the room. It proceeded to open a small door in the wall, like a laundry shoot or a dumbwaiter, and disappeared inside shutting the door behind it.

A few second later someone walked into the room turning on the lights as they entered. Reeve stood up quickly as soon as he noticed that it was Miles who entered.

"You," Reeve said gabbing the cell bars furious at the sight of the scientist.

"Long time no see," Miles told Reeve with a smile as he shut the door behind him and walked over to his desk.

"What have you done with Tifa?" Reeve demanded. He reached into his pocket for his phone but it was gone. If he could only let the others know he found Miles.

"Looking for this?" Miles said holding up a piece of Reeve's broken phone on the desk. He must have broken it to ensure Reeve could not be tracked.

"And don't worry," Miles said throwing Reeve's phone back on his desk, "she is perfectly safe."

"Where are you holding her?" Reeve asked infuriated.

"Holding her? I would never do such a thing," Miles said sounding insulted. "She is free to go wherever she wants. See for yourself." Miles walked over to the door and opened it. "Tifa," he yelled out the door. "Can you come here please?"

Miles walked back over to the desk and sat on the corner of the table looking at Reeve with his arms folded and a big grin on his face.

Less than a minute later Reeve was surprised to see Tifa walk into the room holding sandwiches and two bottles of water. She walked over next to Miles and laid a bottle of water and a sandwich down on the desk.

"I brought you some lunch," Tifa said as she placed the food down.

Seeing Tifa alive and well Reeve was speechless.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," Miles said to Tifa in a sweet voice.

Tifa smiled at Miles and looked over at Reeve holding the extra sandwich and water.

"Are you hungry?" She asked Reeve. She was looking at him like he was a stranger.

"Tifa are you okay? We've been so worried about you!" Reeve said as he grasped the cell bars tight.

He was eager find out what happened to her. He wanted nothing more than to go over and hug her right now. For the last few months he was starting to think she was dead.

She responded with a questioning look like she was trying to figure out who he was.

"I'm sorry I don't–" She started to say but was cut off by Miles.

"Unfortunately Reeve, Tifa does not remember you or anyone else. After the Mt. Nibel incident she was injured and has amnesia. She didn't even know her name until we told her." Miles put his hand on Tifa's lower back caressing it trying to comfort her.

"Tifa, this is Reeve," Miles said motioning to man trapped in the cell. "Remember I told you about him? He was the Shinra executive who founded the World Regenesis Organization."

Tifa looked at Reeve with a frown.

"I remember," she said.

"Tifa honey, would you please excuse us while I talk to Reeve?" Miles asked the female who laid the food down on the desk and exited the room.

"What did you tell her?!" Reeve asked more furious at the scientist. If he was telling the truth and she really did have amnesia Miles must be manipulating her with lies.

"I only told her the truth." Miles explained. "The poor girl has some memories but mostly about her childhood and Shinra destroying her hometown. So we explained to her that we were her allies fighting Shinra before it fell. Now our new enemy is the WRO who was founded by a Shinra executive and funded by the ex-president Shinra." Miles laughed. "We also explained that we were in the process of destroying her hometown reactor when you and your friends showed up to stop us and she was injured in the process."

"Those are all lies and half-truths," Reeve said angry at his deception. Although some of it was true Reeve was upset at how Tifa was manipulated into thinking her friends were her enemies.

"To you maybe," Miles shrugged. "To Tifa we are the only family she has and she's happy here. We told her our plan and she is willing to help us."

"What's your plan?" Reeve asked concerned.

"You'll see," Miles said then he stopped to think. "Actually you won't see because you will not be leaving this basement alive. The only reason you are still breathing is because you have some value to us at the moment." Then he took the extra sandwich and water Tifa left on the table and threw it between the cell bars at Reeve. "You are lucky she is such a nice person. Enjoy your meal."

With that Miles took his sandwich and water and exited the room.

* * *

Tifa walked up into the crowded kitchen. Genesis and Weiss were sitting at the kitchen table while Katerina and Alex were standing in front of the table leaning on the counter behind them. They were in the middle of a conversation when she walked over to the open counter space next to Alex and continued making lunch.

"So what the hell happened after we were stuck in those pods?" Alex asked the winged man. "Last thing I remembered we volunteered for some Deepground experiment or something. Then four years later you're waking us up and the worlds gone to shit."

Genesis took a sip of his tea before answering.

"Well long story short, after you were anaesthetized Sephiroth and Jenova tried to destroy the world by summing a meteor. He was unsuccessful but Shinra and Midgar was destroyed in the process. You three were trapped in the sector 3 slums rubble. Then Weiss here tried to overthrow the Restrictors and got a little carried away." Genesis looked over at Weiss who rolled his eyes in response. "He tried to summon Omega and was possessed by Hojo. He too was defeated and I woke up from my slumber. While searching the Midgar ruins I stumbled across you three. It was a miracle you survived."

"Oh," Alex said then paused taking in all that information. "Well thanks for saving us. I know that's the last time I volunteer for an experiment."

Genesis did not acknowledged the thanks and continued drinking his tea. He did not need to be thanked for what he did. Almost everyone in that room was alive thanks to each other's help. Weiss and Nero saved him after he was defeated by Zack and he saved Weiss in return. After Omega was destroyed and he discovered Weiss' body he was lucky he found Miles.

Not knowing how much the world changed during his slumber Genesis took Weiss to Mideel to find a back country doctor only to discover the town in ruins. Miles was living nearby and happened to stumble upon them. That's when they both realized they had similar goals so they formed a plan.

Shortly after Miles joined the WRO and Genesis spent months combing through the Midgar ruins looking for information relating to Deepground by checking the many properties owned by the secret organization. Unfortunately the Turks were also searching the ruins so it was a race for Genesis to get everything he was looking for without being discovered. Luckily he knew where to look and he stumbled upon his old colleagues before the Turks did.

"So what's up with this World Regenesis Organization? Are they running things now or something?" Alex asked. He heard about them when he was in the detention center and it sounded like they replaced Shinra as the new world leader.

Genesis nodded yes. In his mind there was little difference between the WRO and Shinra. Shinra was an electrical power company that overtime grew so powerful it became the government of Midgar. Overtime it grew into an army that started wars with any city that didn't agree with them. The WRO on the other hand is an army that was trying to act like a world leader. Genesis knew absolute power corrupts absolutely so it would just be a matter of time before the WRO became as twisted as Shinra and he had to stop them before that happened.

Years ago when Genesis showed signs of degradation and Hollander's promises of a cure failed him in an act of desperation he started to recreate his favorite book LOVELESS. In his attempt to reenact the book he view himself as the hero and Zack as the prisoner and he thought by fighting Zack he would obtain the gift of the Goddess and be cured. It was not until he was defeated by Zack the he realized that he was not the hero from the book but the prisoner. Once he accepted this truth he received the gift of the Goddess. After he was cured of degradation by the Goddess materia he had a revelation and realized he was chosen by the Goddess. He was proud to be a SOLDIER but at the same time himself and his friends, Angeal and Sephiroth, were used and lied to by Shinra. He promised to take up their legacy and protect the Planet himself so history would never repeat itself. He was not going to fail his mission.

"We are going to ride the planet of the World Regenesis Organization so future generations won't have to suffer the same fate as us," Genesis explained to his Deepground allies.

Genesis knew not everyone in his group felt the same way as him. Miles and Weiss cared little about saving the world. Miles only liked the plan because it involved ruining the people who ruined his life. Weiss did not object to the plan but was only going along with it because it involved the resurgence of Deepground and destroying the WRO who defeated him almost two years ago.

Genesis was glad to have his old comrades in the house. Up until now the only person he could have a philosophical and intelligent conversation with was Tifa. Miles was also busy 'planning' and Weiss was not much in the way of a conversationalist.

Genesis could tell Weiss viewed him as weak for wanting the help the 'humans' but he didn't care. He knew he was more powerful than Weiss and over the past few months he was trying to get through to his brother in showing him the errors of wanting too much chaos. The psychopath was beginning to realize that his plan to destroy the world was a little much. Too bad Sephiroth was not able to realize this before it was too late; he was a good friend.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall my return. To become the dew that quenches the land. To spare the sands, the seas, the skies. I offer thee this silent sacrifice." Genesis quoted out loud before taking another sip of his tea.

Alex looked at him blankly then smiled. "Good to see you haven't changed much," he said to his friend.

Tifa had been silently listening to the conversation making food. She put a sandwich on a plate and cut it into small pieces.

"I have a few extras if anyone wants them," Tifa said referring to the two sandwiches still on the cutting board.

Genesis and Weiss declined but Alex and Katerina gladly accepted the sandwiches thanking her. The two ate in silence until they could hear the loud footsteps of James walking into the kitchen. The brawny man looked like he just woke up with his blond hair messy and still looking sleepy.

"I haven't slept in a bed that soft in years," he said to everyone stretching. Then he noticed his two friends eating the sandwiches. "Where did you get those?" he asked looking hungry.

"Tifa made them for us," Alex explained with his mouth full. "They're really good."

As Alex said that Tifa had her back to James reaching into the refrigerator looking for something. James smiled at Tifa admiring the view of her ass as she was bending over. Tifa was the only one not noticing James checking her out.

Katerina rolled her eyes and frowned at the sight of James being a pig.

Still not paying attention to him Tifa took some juice out of the fridge and onto the counter next to it with her back still turned to him. With an evil grin on his face James walked over behind her.

"Hey sweet cheeks, can you make me one of those?" He asked reaching his hand out.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Genesis warned but before he could finish his sentence James had already grabbed Tifa's ass.

As soon as James' hand made contact with Tifa she reached behind and gabbed his wrist turning around. She then twisted it forcing him down onto his knees. She continued to forcefully twist his arm behind him in an arm lock while he yelled in pain. Everyone around him could hear a pop sound like his shoulder was coming out of its socket. Tifa was frowning as she twisted his arm further causing him to yelp again.

"She doesn't like it when you do that," Weiss informed the big man leaning back in his chair smiling. He had made the mistake of making a comment to her once which had negative results for him.

"I like her," Katerina commented watching the scene with a big smile on her face.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" James yelled wanting the pain to stop but at the same time embarrassed for giving in to a woman. He had never let anyone get the best of him like this. He was a big strong man and he could not believe this girl's strength.

Hearing the commotion a small hooded figure walked into the kitchen from the same entrance James emerged from. The figure was around three feet tall wearing blue jeans and a black hoodie with the hood up covering its head.

Noticing the person Tifa smiled instantly as she released James' arm helping him back up onto his feet. James rubbed his shoulder sulkily while Tifa walked over picking the person up in her arms. She pulled back their hood revealing a young girl with long brown hair and bright blue mako eyes. The girl smiled at Tifa hugging her.

Seeing the child Katerina smiled at the girl and walked over to them.

"What a beautiful girl. What is her name?" Katerina asked.

"Chloe," Tifa replied brushing the girl's hair out of her face.

"How old is she?" Katerina asked.

"Almost five months," Tifa explained.

Katerina gave her a questionable look.

"You mean five years?"

"No, months," Tifa corrected her not surprised at the confusion.

"We think it's due to the mako exposure," Miles explained. Everyone was busy looking at Tifa and the child no one noticed Miles standing by the basement entrance on the other side of the kitchen. "Tifa needed to undergo mako treatments to survive her pregnancy and we believe the direct exposure to mako in the womb caused the rapid growth."

Through his research he predicted that mako can affect the development of children who are exposed. Most SOLDIER's born through Shinra experiments, like the Jenova projects, are not exposed to Mako until their late teens. Shelke was exposed as a child and stopped aging; an adult stuck in the body of a child. He could only assume that because Chloe was exposed in the womb it had a different effect on her causing her to grow rapidly.

"So you're one of us," Katerina said softly to the child bending over so they were face to face. The girl smiled at the woman and reached her hand out touching Katerina's face gently.

"She can't talk yet," Tifa informed Katerina. "Miles thinks her growth will return to normal as she gets older."

Tifa walked across the kitchen and put the child in a seat at the table. She then brought Chloe over the cut up sandwich and juice. Miles walked over to the child putting his hand on her head and messed up the girl's hair jokingly. The girl looked up at the scientist and smiled before she started eating.

Miles walked over to the counter placing down half of the sandwich he didn't finish.

"Are you going to eat that?" James asked eyeing at the sandwich hungrily.

"No," Miles replied as James immediately grabbed it scarfing it down.

"Now that we're all here we should go over the plans for tomorrow," Miles explained to the group and they all proceeded to listen carefully as he continued talking.

* * *

Cloud was exhausted, shattered and disheartened but he was not going to give up searching. After leaving his friends in Junon he went looking for Tifa on his own. That was over six months ago and he had not found one single clue. He went looking in every town he could think of and talked to as many people as possible with no luck.

Tifa was his everything and looking for her was the only thing he had left. His friends would call from time to time leaving voice messages. He won't return their calls but he would check them to make sure the messages were not about Tifa which they never were.

He was searching near Gongaga when he received a message from Cid telling him that he wanted to meet up and he had some important information. He immediately packed up his bike and rushed across the continent towards Rocket Town.

Although Rocket Town had not developed as much as some of the other towns like Corel it was still growing and thriving. Seeing the Shera parked in a field outside town Cloud knew he could find Cid tinkering in his workshop.

Over the years Cid had managed to build a big workshop near his house which he used to work on various projects in his free time. When Cloud entered the shop he found Cid working on what looked like a jet engine. Cid looked up when he noticed someone enter.

"Hey," Cid told Cloud with a big smile happy to see his friend.

"You said you had some information," Cloud asked Cid. He wanted to continue searching as soon as possible and didn't have time for small talk.

Cid paused for a second and gave him a guilty look not sure what to say.

"It was Shera's idea," he said sounding a little nervous. "She suggested I call you. We thought you could use a good meal and a bed to sleep in. I'm on vacation this week so first thing tomorrow we can use the ship and I can help you search for a few days."

Cid felt bad for lying but they were all worried about him. The last time Cloud was acting like this he had Geo-Stigma but that time he also had Tifa there to knock some sense back into him. Without Tifa they all knew Cloud was never going be the same but they had to try to be there for him.

"Not interested," Cloud said abruptly to his friend then turned to leave.

He was angry at Cid for wasting his time. He knew his friends had given up hope. He did not need Cid's pity. Cid would never say it but Cloud knew he didn't think they were going to find her; he was only offering to help him search in exchange for taking a break. He couldn't help but think if Cid would stop searching if it was Shera who went missing. Immediately Cloud felt a little guilty for thinking like that. He knew his friends were just looking out for him but he was still not going to accept Cid's offer.

"Sorry," Cloud said to Cid before shutting the door behind him.

Cloud left the town and boarded his bike frustrated. It was going to take him half a day of straight driving to get back to the Gongaga area. He drove without stopping and was a few miles outside Cosmo Canyon when he decided to set up camp for the night.

It was nightfall when he started a fire and reached into his bag for some canned food. He had just finished heating his dinner when he heard a noise. He looked around but the light from the fire made it impossible to make out anything in the surrounding darkness. He slowly laid down his food and reached for his sword lying next to him. Holding the sword handle he waited to see if he heard the noise again.

A few seconds later he heard what sounded like someone or something approaching. He stood and raised his sword when he noticed the shine of eyes reflecting off the light from the fire. They were close to the ground so he knew they were not human. Assuming they belonged to a monster Cloud prepared himself for an attack.

"Cloud, it's me," he hear a familiar voice say.

Instantly Cloud recognized the voice as Nanakin. He lowered his sword as the cat like creature approached his camp.

"My apologies for startling you," Nanakin said as he step into the light and sat by the fire.

"That's okay," Cloud said sitting back down and picking up the plate next to him. "Hungry?" he asked motioning to the pot of food sitting next to the fire.

"No, thank you," Red replied shaking his head. "I have been trying to track you down for three days now," he informed his friend.

"What for?" Cloud asked after taking a bite of his food. He hoped this was not another attempt to get him take a break.

"I just came from Mideel," Red informed Cloud.

"There is nothing in Mideel, I checked." Cloud informed his friend flatly.

A few years ago the small village was destroyed by the lifestream after the Ultimate Weapon attack. The inhabitants waited for the mako to recede back into the ground but after months of waiting it never receded so they abandoned the town.

"I know. Four days ago I was deep in the jungle near the town's ruins when I located a concealed WRO airship and a house. I watched the house all day and did not see anyone emerge but I think you should check it out." Nanakin explained.

The problem with not having hands was Nanakin could not enter the property without making himself known. He walked around the house and tried to look in the windows but all the downstairs blinds were drawn. He could tell people were living there and there was a familiar sent to the place. Due to only having paws he was also unable to use a cell phone to call Cloud so he had to try to track his friend down by foot. At first he thought it would be easier to locate one of their other friends to call Cloud but he could not find anyone in Edge and the 7th Heaven was abandoned. He was unable to locate Reeve in Junon and he did not know the whereabouts of Barret, Vincent or Yuffie.

Cloud thought it was a long shot but this was the closest thing he had to a clue since Tifa went missing. Seeing as how it was so late he planned to leave at sunrise first thing in the morning. Mideel was a long ways away and it would take a few days for him to reach it. He wished he had Cid's airship right now.

"How did you manage to find me?" Cloud asked his friend. He never told anyone where he was going and the only person he talked to in the last few months was Cid earlier today.

"Well I searched everywhere and the only person I could find was Cid in Rocket Town. I guess I just missed you because he told me you visited him earlier today. I told him to call you but he said you probably wouldn't return his call. That's when we went looking for you and noticed the fire."

"Cid's here?" Cloud asked.

"He's waiting for us just over that hill." Nanakin said motioning behind him.

Now Cloud felt like a fool. Not only was he mean to his friend if he had of stayed in Rocket Town like Cid wanted Nanakin would have found him sooner and they would be in Mideel by now.

Cloud proceeded to pack up his belongings and put out the fire. When the fire was extinguished he took his bike and followed his friend towards the airship.

* * *

It was late night and everyone was sleeping except Miles, Weiss and Genesis. Miles was in the shed behind the house calibrating his machine when Weiss entered to give him an update. The scientist was so focused on his machine he failed to notice that the spiky haired man had blood all over his clothes and hands.

"It took a lot of persuasion but I was able to obtain most of the information you wanted," Weiss informed the scientist with a smile. He was happy to volunteer his services for the prisoner's interrogation as it gave him a chance to release some built up stress. Being cooped up in the house for the last few months was starting to drive him crazy.

Miles stopped what he was doing and look up at Weiss who sounded too happy. It always worried him when he sounded like that.

"You didn't use the solution I provided you?" Miles asked frowning.

"I wanted to try it the old fashion way first," Weiss shrugged," but he was stubborn. Don't worry I used your method once his screams became too loud. I don't think anyone upstairs heard." Weiss explained. He knew he would be in a lot of trouble if he woke up the child.

"Did you get all the security details and passwords?" Miles asked

Weiss nodded yes. "I tried to ask him about the location of the weapon but he wouldn't answer then when I tried to persuade him further he passed out."

"No matter," Miles said turning back to his machine. "All that information we need we'll obtain from the files. Once we have secured both buildings we will have all of their information at out fingertips and we'll be unstoppable."

Weiss smiled evilly. After spending the last few months with the scientist Weiss was starting to like the way he thinks.

Then Genesis, who had just returned from a stroll outside, noticed the shed lights on and joined them to discuss some concerns he had with tomorrow's plan.

"I don't think using her is a good idea," Genesis warned standing behind Miles by the front entrance with his arms crossed.

Miles was now kneeling on the ground tightening a bolt with a socket wrench. The shed was a large workshop with a workbench full of tools and the machine Miles was working on took up most of the free space. Weiss was to the right of Miles leaning on the workbench.

"Who else are we going to use?" Weiss asked his brother. "We have three fugitives, Miles and I are on wanted posters throughout the city and you have a giant wing coming out of your back. She's the only one who can walk into the city and the building without drawing any attention."

"Can't we just use one of the renegades?" Genesis suggested trying to come up with an alternative solution. It's not that he didn't trust Tifa, he just thought using her was too risky.

Miles had the same worries but he considered all the risks before formulating this plan. Using Tifa was a big risk but he tried to mitigate it as much as possible. He stopped what he was doing and stood up to face the winged man.

"First off, we can't trust the renegades with this sensitive information. Secondly, I do plan to use them as backup should the need arise. Finally, all our intel indicates that none of them are in Edge right now so this is the perfect time for her to strike." Miles then took the wrench he was holding and walked over to his workbench laying it down before turning back towards Genesis. "Nevertheless, it will be your responsibility to watch out for her. If one of them does happen to show up you need to get her out of there immediately and we'll switch to plan B. That's why we have a plan B."

Miles was the type of person to calculate every step and have multiple back up plans if he felt it was necessary. He felt good about the plan overall but knew there was always a chance something could go wrong. He was a clever man but not everything always went according to plan for him. Some things just can't be predicted and sometimes there was human error on his part.

The situation with Tifa's memory loss was a perfect example. Miles knew for certain that the chip activated the poison but what he didn't know is why it didn't kill her. He hypothesized that when it was activated the chemicals failed to spread throughout her body and was confined to the part of her brain only affecting her memory. But even if this premises was correct, Miles still do not know why the poison didn't kill her as soon as it was released. He assumed it was due to her superior strength and rapid healing abilities which caused her body to overcome the toxins. Still, he was gratefully for this mistake. When he implanted the chip he only did so as a way to control her since that's what the Restrictors used to control Weiss and Miles thought he could do the same with Tifa.

Miles walked back over to the machine and activated it. The lights in the shop dimmed before the machine rumbled causing the ground around the shed to shake a little. The rumble intensified as steam started to shoot out the top of the device. A few seconds later the machine stopped and a blue orb rolled out the side.

Miles smiled at the sight of the materia. He walked over and picked it up inspecting it. He had been working on this little project for many years now and was delighted to finally see the fruits of his labor.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Friday part.1

As soon as Yuffie heard about the prison escape on the news Thursday morning she tried to call Reeve but there was no answer. She assumed he was busy dealing with incident but after a day of not hearing from him she knew something was wrong. Going this long without returning her calls was unlike him and she was starting to get a bad feeling. The next morning she rushed to the headquarters and went directly to his office but the door was locked.

She unclipped her ID card and slid it through the door crack trying to find the latch. She heard a click and the door opened. She was hoping there was something in his office that could give her some clues as to his whereabouts. His office looked as pristine as usual and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. She tried thinking about what to do next.

That's when Yuffie noticed the security monitor behind Reeve's desk. The security cameras would be able to tell her the last time he was in the building. She walked across the room and rolled his chair over to the monitor typing on the keyboard. She was surprised to discover that all the cameras were deactivated. She proceeded to rewind to Wednesday night when she was talking with Reeve in his office. Luckily the cameras were working at that time and she could see herself leaving. On the top right screen showed the security camera located outside the main security office. Thirteen minutes after she exited the building she witnessed a peacekeeper walk into the security room and all the screens went black.

Instantly she knew something happened to Reeve and a really bad feeling grew in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

It was early morning when Tifa, Genesis, Weiss, James, Alex and Katerina exited the house towards the shuttle leaving Miles and Chloe alone at the kitchen table.

"So what are we going to do today?" He asked the young girl who looked at him with a questionable look.

Miles picked up her plate and cup putting it in the sink then he turned back towards her.

"Want to come see daddy's workshop?" He asked her as she looked at him with a big smile.

The young girl suddenly became excited and raised her arms signaling for him to pick her up. He then proceeded to pick the young girl up and carried her to the shed behind the house.

* * *

It was morning when the Shera touched down near Mideel. Cloud, Nanakin and Cid exited the ship and the two men followed the feline creature into the jungle. It seemed like Nanakin knew exactly where he was going.

After about twenty minutes of walking they reached a clearing with a small two story house sitting in the middle of the opening. The three stopped and looked around before continuing towards the house.

"This place looks abandoned," Cid said noticing that there were no people around and the outside of the house looked unkempt. All the window blinds were closed so they could not look in. "Should we knock at the front door?" he asked.

No one objected so the Captain walked up and rang the doorbell. They all waited and no one came to the door.

"Nobody's home. Should we go in and look around?" Cid asked the others.

"That never stopped us before," Nanakin commented. He could tell by the scent that people were here recently and that familiar scent he was almost certain was Tifa's. His instincts were telling him this was the right place.

Cloud reached out and checked the door which was unlocked. They entered and stood by the entrance making sure nobody was home.

"Hello, anyone home?" Cid called out. Nobody responded.

They looked around. Straight ahead of them was a staircase leading upstairs. To the right was what looked like a living room and to the left was a short hallway leading towards the kitchen.

"Cid you go look upstairs while we check the rest of the house," Cloud suggested.

Cid nodded yes and headed up the stairs. Nanakin checked the living room sniffing around while Cloud walked towards the kitchen. As he walked through the kitchen he noticed another doorway on the other side with porch area, back door and staircase leading downstairs.

Cloud walked towards the staircase and continued down. At the bottom of the stairs was a closed door. He walked down and turned the knob but it was locked. He debated if he should force the door open but this seemed like a nice family home; not the kind of place you would expect fugitives to live in. The last thing he wanted to do was break down the family's door. He was about to go back up the stairs to check on the others when he heard a noise coming from the other side of the door. He walked closer to the door putting his ear next to it.

"Hello?" he called out. He was sure he heard the faint sound of someone calling out from inside the room.

Cloud was not going to take any chances so he proceeded to kick the door open. When he entered he was surprised to see Reeve sitting in a cell on the other side of the room. He was propped up against the wall barely able to keep himself up. Reeve's face was bloody and bruised and his shirt had blood all over it. Reeve looked up with a faint smile when he noticed Cloud.

Cloud rushed over and broke the cell door lock with his sword. He opened the door and went into the cell helping his injured friend up.

"What happened?" Cloud asked the commissioner as he put his arm around his shoulder for support.

"Miles and the others," Reeve struggled to say. He was severely dehydrated and in a lot of pain. "We need to get to Edge," he warned.

"What about Tifa? Do they have her? Is she ok?" Cloud asked his friend franticly as they slowly made their way towards the stairs.

Reeve nodded yes. He was barely able to move with Cloud doing most of the work. A trail of blood from Reeve's face was dripping as they walked. Cloud had to get Reeve onboard the airship and to Edge as soon as possible. He helped his friend up the stairs and through the kitchen just when Cid was walking down the stairs from the bedrooms. Cid and Nanakin were shocked to see Cloud with an injured Reeve. Cid got on the other side of Reeve helping him through the front door with Nanakin leading the way back towards the airship.

After twenty minutes of wandering through the forest they came across the Shrea and boarded. Cloud and Nanakin helped Reeve down to the lounge while Cid went to the bridge to prepare for takeoff. Cloud laid Reeve down on the sofa and used a cure materia on the semiconscious man. The spell helped with his cuts and bruises but there was a lot of internal damage that it couldn't fix.

"Reeve, do you know what they are planning?" Cloud asked his friend kneeling next to him.

Reeve was not fully awake yet and was mumbling incoherently. The swelling was gone but his face was full of dried blood. Cloud got up and walked over to the bar gabbing a bottle of water for his friend. He opened it and tried to give him some of the water. Tasting the water on his lips Reeve lifted his head drinking it rapidly then started to cough due to drinking too fast. He then laid his head back down with his eyes closed tight in obvious pain.

Cloud and Nanakin waited until he gained consciousness. Fifteen minutes later Reeve slowly opened his eyes and looked over at Cloud.

"I need your phone," Reeve told Cloud who turned his phone on and handed it to him.

Reeve slowly sat up on the sofa holding his head with one hand and the phone in the other. He then proceeded to call the deputy commissioner of the Edge Headquarters to warn him about Miles and the others. As soon as he closed the phone it beeped indicating that Cloud had a voicemail message.

"You have a message," Reeve said handing Cloud his phone.

"Why are they targeting the headquarters in Edge?" Cloud asked Reeve before putting the phone up to his ear listing to the message.

Reeve paused for a second before answering. He was leaning forward with his hands on his head resting his elbows on his knees. It looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"They are after files containing top secret information," Reeve explained to them.

Reeve had went through great lengths to protect the files they were after. Not only were they encrypted and password protected the drive they were on could only be accessed on sight and only from two computers in the whole building. Unfortunately he provided all this information to Weiss last night.

Cloud finished listening to the message and closed his phone handing it back to Reeve.

"Yuffie is looking for you," he informed his friend. "What about Tifa?" Cloud asked eager to get some more information from him. He was relieved to hear she was okay but he wanted to find her as soon as possible.

"She's fine," Reeve reassured his friend wondering how he was going to break the news about Tifa. He was about to call Yuffie back but part of him felt he should warn Cloud about Tifa first. He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "Cloud, there's something you should know."

* * *

Yuffie tried calling all of her friends and left messages but the only two she could reach were Vincent who was in Kalm and Barret in Corel. She told them about Reeve and what she saw on the camera.

Barret told her he was stuck in Corel until he could find a ride to Junon. Normally the fastest way to get around was to call Cid but he was not answering his phone so Barret had to find alternative arrangements which could take hours.

Vincent on the other hand had his own means of transportation and said he would be there in an hour. Yuffie told him she would wait at the headquarters until he arrived. While she was waiting she decided to do some more snooping around.

She proceeded to make her way to the security control room to check where she witnessed that peacekeeper turn off the security system. She exited Reeve's office and headed towards the stairwell. The security room was located one floor below so it would be faster for her to take the stairs.

She went straight through the emergency exit and down the staircase to the floor below. As she walked down the hallway she passed a few people who were just arriving to work. She nodded hello to them as they passed. She made her way down the hall towards the security room only to discover that the room was locked. Using her keycard she tried to unlock the door like she did Reeve's office but this one had a deadbolt and wouldn't open.

"Gotta bust out the big guns," Yuffie said to herself as she pulled two bobby pins out of her hair and started picking the lock.

As she was picking the lock a female employee walked by giving her a strange look. Yuffie figured they never seen someone picking a lock before.

After a few seconds the lock clicked and she opened the door. She walked in to see a security guard lying near the controls dead. She inspected the body and discovered ligature marks around his neck meaning someone strangled him to death.

She assumed the killer was the man she saw on the security camera dressed as a peacekeeper. All the security monitors in the room were deactivated showing blue screens. As she looked around she noticed all the cameras were shut down so she reached over the body, making sure not to touch it, and turned the system back on.

With all the cameras up and running Yuffie looked around and everything seemed normal. Even though they were short staffed there was quite a few people walking around. Most of the screens showed people walking through the hallways towards their offices.

Then from the corner of her eye she looked down at the bottom screen and noticed a group of five peacekeepers walking through the hallway on the third floor. The third floor was one of the busiest floors and it was not uncommon for peacekeepers to be wondering around the building. But as she watched them she noticed they would stop at all the occupied offices and look in. In most cases they would continue walking after looking in at the person working. From what she could see from her view on the monitor the people in the offices would look up at the sight of the peacekeepers then turn their attention back to their work once they continued on.

Then she noticed the peacekeepers stop at an office with a man working at his desk. Upon seeing them the man stood up and pulled out a gun from his desk drawer. The man exited the office, walked past the peacekeepers and towards the elevator. Then the peacekeepers stopped at the last office in the hallway and one of them walked in. Yuffie could not see what happened inside the office from the angle of the camera but a few seconds later the peacekeeper walked out with his gun in his hand and not in its holster.

On another screen she witnessed the man she saw from the third floor walking out of the elevator on top floor. He then stopped at Reeve's office walked in checking it then walked out. When he realized there was no one else on that floor the man walked back towards the elevator.

Yuffie was so mesmerized watching what was happening on the screens it startled her when her phone rang. She looked at her phone to see it was Cloud calling.

"Cloud!" she said answering her phone. Then she listened for a second realizing it was not Cloud. "Reeve! What happened to you? I was so worried."

Then she listening while Reeve update her on how he was captured by men dressed as peacekeepers.

"I think they are in the building right now," she explained to him. "I'm in the security room and there is some weird shit going on. I think they killed someone. You need to get here fast!"

Reeve told her he would be there as soon as possible and he directed her to keep him posted on everything that is going on.

Yuffie knew something was wrong and she had to figure out what without being discovered. She quickly exited the security room and ran towards the stairs. She walked into the stairwell and could hear people walking up the stairs towards her. Fearing it was the enemy approaching she took the stairs leading back up to the top floor.

* * *

Inside the shed behind the house Miles was busy making materia with Chloe sitting on the floor playing with the round orbs like they were big marbles.

"It won't be long before you're able to use materia the proper way," Miles informed the young girl as she held a yellow orb in her hands.

She just looked up at him and smiled in response then continued playing.

Miles has had a fascination with materia ever since he was a young child. Growing up near Mideel where lifestream surges were a common occurrence he was aware of its dangers but at the same time he understood it was also the giver of life. He always like materia in particular because it allowed one to harness the power of the lifestream giving the weakest person god like powers.

It was this interest as a child that influenced him in his studies. He had been a collector of materia since childhood and was upset that his precious huge materia was destroyed when the Turks blew up his airship. They were supposed to be the crown jewels of his collection. It was never his intension to use the huge materia to power a bomb. That was just a part of the wild goose chance he sent everyone on to buy them some time. He spent months trying to drop hints about his fake plans for the huge materia and even murdering the two people in Edge just so Reeve could connect the dots later. The only bomb he intended to detonate was in Healen which the real Genesis was unaware of. He knew Genesis would not have agreed to the destruction of a town with a hospital. Luckily for Genesis that plan was foiled by the Turks.

Still, if that was the worst thing to go wrong with his plan so far he should considered himself lucky. Overall Miles was rather happy at how everything turned out although there were a few close calls especially with the incident at Fort Condor. It was apparent to him that lady luck was on his side and he couldn't help but feel that everything leading up to this point was destined to happen. Or maybe it was just the universe finally making things right for him after losing so much.

After he was fired from Shinra he went searching for employment in other towns but not many people were hiring especially when a big meteor was plummeting towards the planet. That's when he decided to returned to the family home near Mideel he inherited years earlier. It was there he spent most of his days trying to develop his own materia making machine similar to the one he use to work with in Midgar. Unfortunately parts were hard to come by being in the middle of the jungle so he didn't get very far. By then Mideel had been destroyed by a huge lifestream surge so he spent years searching through the ruins looking for anything of value and collecting mako samples.

It was there he ran into Genesis and an injured Weiss. Recognizing Genesis he decided to help him and suggested taking his brother to the Shinra Manor since he worked there previously and was familiar with the laboratory.

By the time they reached Nibelhiem they already had a plan formulated. In Nibelhiem Miles was surprised to see that many of the actors that were hired by Shinra when he worked there years ago were still residing in the town. Miles and Genesis decided to use them as 'volunteers' for the first wave of minions. Genesis overpowered them, took them up to the Mt. Nibel reactor and showed him how to make copies. Once they were ready they were given their orders and Miles went to apply for a position with the WRO while Genesis went searching through the Midgar ruins.

When Miles was not working on assignments for the WRO he was researching how to help Weiss using information provided by Genesis and the rest of the time he spent perfecting Genesis' technique for making copies.

Then Genesis found the three Deepground SOLDIERs in the ruins and Miles agreed to help them. By that time he knew he needed Shelke to save Weiss and they had to put their main objective on hold to help Weiss and the SOLDIERs. Then Miles needed to develop a completely new plan once he got wind of the reactor demolition project knowing the Mt. Nibel reactor was on the chopping block.

Luckily by then he had already managed to utilize the Genesis copies to help him make dozens more in the Corel and Mt. Nibel reactor laboratories. Once they secured the WRO airship it was much easier for them to transport potential monster and human copies. It reached a point where they had so many subjects they had to set up a new shop in the old mako excavation facility up north. Miles was so delighted when he discovered Cloud was asked to help with the reactor project. It was his chance to get his revenge and he worked it into his plan at the same time.

The only time he feared being caught was with the Fort Condor reactor. That was his fault for trying to put too much on one plate. Although it wasn't part of their plan Miles wanted the reactor parts of his materia making machine and directed the copies to use the parts from the Fort Condor reactor. Unlike most of his plans he left this to the last minute and the night before it was scheduled to be demolished the copies went in to gather the equipment. Unexpectedly the copies came across raiders in the reactor already ransacking the place.

Fortunately luck was on their side that night and so many things that could have gone wrong didn't. Had the Turks decided to inspect the reactor that night the copies might have been discovered. Had the Turks spotted their stolen airship concealed nearby or if one of the raiders managed to escape, a year of work could have went down the drain. Luckily none of that happened and the copies knew enough to dispose of the bodies. Walking through the Fort Condor reactor with Vincent was the most nervous he had been throughout the whole ordeal.

Realizing he spaced out Miles looked over to check on Chloe who was still happily playing with the materia. She looked up at him when she noticed Miles staring at her and smiled.

He smiled back and continued tinkering with the machine recalibrating the pressure gauge. He couldn't help but think how funny life was. The one thing that was not part of his original plan, Chloe, was the best thing to come out of all this. If only Hojo could see him now. When he was younger he wanted nothing more than to work with the scientist but years later he was now improving on Hojo's experiments. Having Chloe under his control he was going to have a subject more powerful than any of the Jenova projects and being so young he was going to mold her into the perfect SOLDIER. It just goes to show you can't plan life no matter how hard you try.

Miles' thinking was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing on his workbench. He walked over, answered it and listened to Genesis on the other end.

"What!?" He asked furious after listening to the news.

Hearing the anger in his voice Chloe stopped playing and looked up at him worried.

Miles then proceeded to pick up the young girl while still holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder and hurried into the house.

* * *

Genesis, Tifa and the others were twenty minutes outside Edge. They were all sitting on two bench like seats facing each other with Weiss and James sitting on one side and Tifa and Genesis on the other. Alex was up front piloting the airship and Katerina in the co-pilot seat.

Genesis received a phone call. He answered and listened before hanging up. Everyone could tell by the expression on his face that is was not good news.

"What is it?" Weiss asked curious.

"Reeve called his security to warn them of our arrival," Genesis informed them as he dialed Miles' number to let him know.

"What? Does that mean he escaped?" James asked.

"I don't think he called from inside his cell, so yes, he escaped," Weiss explained to the blond frustrated with the news. He knew he should have killed Reeve when he had the chance last night.

"How the hell did he get out?" Alex asked yelling back to the group. They were able to overhear the conversation from the cockpit.

Worrying the house was attacked Tifa turned to face Genesis who was on the phone with Miles.

"Are they okay?" Tifa quietly asked Genesis.

The winged man turned to look at her and nodded yes with the phone still to his ear. He continued talking on the phone for another minute before hanging up and turning back to Tifa.

"They were in the shed working when someone broke in and freed the prisoner," Genesis explained.

"So do we stick to the plan?" James asked not sure what all this meant.

"Assuming he is travelling by airship we probably have an hour lead at least," Genesis explained to the group then turned to Tifa. "Do you think an hour will be enough?" he asked her.

Tifa nodded yes. She was unfamiliar with Edge and the building she was infiltrating but she was confident she could do this.

"What about security?" Katerina asked looking back at the group from the co-piolet chair. "Don't they know she's coming?"

"That won't be a problem," Genesis assured her.

The only major problem he could foresee right now is if Reeve or one of his friends appeared before she can retrieve the files and he knew it will be an even bigger problem if Cloud showed up.

* * *

Reeve had just gotten off of the phone with Yuffie. He had told Cloud about Tifa before calling the girl but Cloud was not taking the news well.

"There is no why she is helping them," Cloud informed his friend taking back his phone. "They must be manipulating her somehow."

Reeve's news upset him. They were still forty minutes outside Edge and Cloud was getting restless. After what Reeve told him he was anxious to find Tifa as soon as possible. Cloud was pacing back and forward in the small room while Reeve sat on the sofa leaning forward trying to ignore the pain he was in. Nankin was sitting near the sofa listening to the conversation.

"Cloud, she didn't even recognize me. Miles said she has amnesia."

With the way Cloud was taking the news Reeve didn't even want to mention how close Tifa and Miles appeared in that basement. Cloud was always such a calm person Reeve had never seen him this agitated. Even when Tifa went missing he seemed sad not frantic like he was now.

Cloud didn't want to believe Reeve and hearing him mention the scientist's name angered him more. He was certain Miles must have done something to her. He was a crazy scientist after all. Maybe he was controlling her the same way he attempted to control him. There was no way she would forget her friends especially him, not after everything they been through. That's when he remembered Tifa's pregnancy.

Cloud suddenly stopped pacing and looked at Reeve.

"Did Tifa look different in any way?" He asked his friend.

She had been missing for eight months now. Cloud never found out how far along she was so either she was still very much pregnant and due soon or she was no longer pregnant which could mean one of two things.

Reeve looked up at Cloud and paused before answering.

"No, why?" He asked.

"Just wondering," Cloud replied sounding a little disappointed. He sat down in a chair across from Reeve looking deep in thought.

When he was in the house earlier there was no sign of a baby living there which probably meant that their child didn't make it to term. After everything Tifa had been through he was not surprised but it still upset him. He wished he could have been there for her when it happened. One of the things that motivated him to not give up searching was the thought of seeing Tifa and his child along with the hope of being together as a family again.

They all sat in silence until Cid's voice came across the intercom.

"We'll be there in fifteen minutes. Get ready."

Hearing that Cloud started to get restless again and was about to exit before being stopped by Reeve.

"Cloud," Reeve told his friend, "I'll send backup as soon as possible."

Cloud nodded then exited the room towards Fenrir.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Friday Part. 2

Genesis exited the airship just before it reached the airfield. Being able to fly he thought it was best to keep a bird's eye view especially with the added risk of their enemies showing up at any moment. Even though they were using a stolen WRO shuttlecraft they figured the airfield was the best place for the aircraft to blend in.

Upon arrival Tifa departed and proceeded into the city while Weiss, Alex, Katerina and James stayed onboard the aircraft keeping an eye out for Reeve and the others.

"So what do we do if we spot them? Attack?" James asked looking out the aircraft's starboard side window.

"No, first we warn Genesis then we attack," Katerina corrected him looking out the port side window opposite to James.

"Weiss, I hope you know what these people look like," Alex added from the captain's seat where he was watching from the front of the aircraft.

"Don't you remember?" Katerina asked turning away from the window and looking towards Alex in the cockpit. "They're the people we fought on Mt. Nibel." She reminded him.

Alex laughed.

"Yeah how can I forget getting the shit kicked out of me by an airship," he commented sitting back in his chair and hanging his feet over the armrests. "That's my kind of ship. Why can't we have an airship like that Weiss? This one's a small piece of crap."

Katerina grinned at Alex's comment.

"So who's the one Genesis is worried about showing up?" James asked still looking out the window.

"Cloud," Weiss said flatly looking out the window next to Katerina. He was starting to get annoyed with all the talking going on around him. These three idiots never seem to shut up.

"Was he the big guy with the gun arm?" Alex asked trying to remember.

"No, I don't think so," Katerina corrected him. "I think he was the cutie with the big sword."

Alex leaned over his seat looking towards the back of the airship. He frowned at Katerina.

"You think he's cute?" he asked her a little hurt.

Before Katerina could answer James interrupted. He was looking out the window when he noticed something approaching them at a rapid speed. As soon as he could make out what it was he had to say something.

"Does Cloud have blond spiky hair and ride a motorcycle?" the big man asked.

"Yes, Why?" Weiss replied turning to look at James.

"Well I think he just drove past us," James commented.

Before any of them could react Cloud had already passed them and was almost at the city's edge. Weiss sighed and pulled out his phone to warn Genesis.

* * *

When Tifa walked into the big city she didn't recognize anything. She knew she had been in Edge before because Miles told her she had. She was hoping being back would trigger some memories but nothing.

The city was big, dirty, noisy and crowded; much different from where she had been living the last eight months. She followed the directions towards the WRO headquarters which was not hard to find being one of the tallest and biggest buildings in the city.

Tifa walked through the front entrance of the building and surveyed the lobby. To the right of her was a little café with some tables and chairs out front. The shop had three people in it getting their mid-morning coffee and snacks but other than that the lobby was relatively empty. To the left was a lounge area where people could take a break or wait. Towards the back of the lobby was a glass door leading into the rest of the building. Next to the door was a security desk and a guard. Tifa watched as an employee left the café and walked past the security guard swiping their ID card next to the desk before entering. Tifa had Reeve's ID card in her pocket which she hoped still worked.

Taking a deep breath she started to walk towards the security guard sitting at the desk. He was an older man with gray hair and beard. As she past him she was about to pull out Reeve's card when the guard stopped her.

"Miss Lockhart," the guard called out to her.

Tifa turned to look at him with a smile. Her hand was still in her pocket holding the card.

"You forgot to sign in," the man said as he reached over and handed her a clipboard. She looked and on it was a piece of paper with the title 'Guest Sign In'.

"Sorry, I forgot," she said forcing a nervous laugh. She proceeded to pick up the pen attached to the clipboard and printed her name then signed it. The last column was titled 'Picture ID'.

Tifa looked up at the man.

"I forgot my ID,' she informed him sheepishly.

The man looked at her for a second then smiled while reaching for the clipboard.

"You and Mr. Strife never have picture ID," he informed her while handing her a clip badge with a big 'V' on it. "Do you want me to call someone to let them know you're here?" the guard offered.

Not recognizing the last name Strife Tifa didn't give it much thought.

"No, that's fine. They already know I'm here," she replied and swiped her visitor pass. "Have a nice day," she told the man before entering and walking down the hallway.

It didn't take long for her to reach the elevators. The first twenty floors could be accessed by just pressing the buttons but all the upper floors required an ID card for access. Tifa took out Reeve's card and swiped it before pressing the button for the top floor.

The only two offices on the top floor belonged to Reeve and the deputy commissioner. When the elevator door opened Tifa looked out and was relieved to see that the hallway was deserted. She walked down and turned the corner to where Reeve's office was located. His door was locked with a keypad that required a five digit code. Tifa pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and proceeded to input the code that was written on the paper. The device beeped and she heard a click.

She entered the office quickly shutting the door behind her. The office was spacious but simple with a desk, a couch, a few chairs and a big window overlooking the city. She walked over to the desk in the middle of the room and turned on the computer. She checked the piece of paper for the login name and password. The login name was 'Rtuesti'. She looked again at the password. Weiss had terrible writing but she was sure he wrote 'CaitSith#1972' as the password. Not knowing what a Cait Sith was she inputted it and it worked.

Tifa was looking through the various programs when she heard what sounded like a door shutting coming from down the hall followed by footsteps. She stopped to listen but luckily it sounded like the footsteps were walking away from her. She was relieved when she heard the 'ding' of the elevator meaning whoever it was they were leaving.

'Now it's time for the hard part,' Tifa said to herself while continuing her search for the files.

* * *

"So what did he say?" Alex asked Weiss as soon as he was off the phone with Genesis.

"He is going to call in plan B," Weiss informed the three.

"That's going to take too long," James told Weiss. "We got an airship. Let's just land on the roof and go in and get her."

"He told us to stay here," Weiss informed him.

"Since when do you listen to anyone?" Katerina told Weiss crossing her arms. "That's not like the Weiss the Immaculate I've heard so much about."

"Why does it matter what we do? Now that we're switching to plan 'B' we don't need to be secretive anymore. Let's go in there guns blazing," Alex tried to convince him. He was sick of being stuck in the small airship.

Weiss had to admit they made a good argument.

"Okay, let's go," Weiss agreed and Alex jumped back into the pilot's chair.

* * *

Cloud raced through the city and parked directly in front of the WRO building. When he entered the lobby nothing looked out of the ordinary. He wondered if he beat them here.

Waiting next to the security desk was the deputy commissioner, Colin McClure. He was wearing a dark blue suit and had short light brown hair and green eyes. Upon seeing him Cloud walked over and Colin updated him.

"I've notified our head of security and they've dispatched extra peacekeepers to patrol the area." Colin said as he looked around. "Our security chief said he would meet us here. He must be running late."

Cloud had met Colin a few times before during Cloud's many visits to the headquarters. Although Cloud didn't technically work for the WRO he did visit often to drop off packages for his delivery service.

"Does Reeve know what they are after exactly?" Colin said quietly so nobody could overhear.

"He just said they were after top secret information," Cloud informed Colin as he took the clipboard off the security desk to sign in as he always does. That's when he spotted Tifa's name on the register. He looked at the security guard surprised.

"Tom, is Tifa here?" he asked the guard.

The old man looked at Cloud and nodded.

"She signed in almost thirty minutes ago," he informed the blond while handing him his visitor pass.

Cloud looked at Colin.

"Where would you go to access the files?" he asked the Deputy Commissioner.

"The only two places are mine and Reeve's office," Colin replied as Cloud followed him towards the elevators.

Once in the elevator Colin used his keycard to reach the top floor. When they reached the top Colin walked out with Cloud following.

"His office is at the end of the hall," Colin said just as three peacekeepers turned the corner in front of them. Colin stopped in his tracks. "I thought I said to meet me in the lobby," Colin told the man standing at the head of the group.

That's when Cloud noticed a gun in the man's hand. As he raised the gun Cloud reached for Colin to get him out of the way but it was too late and Colin was hit. Immediately all the peacekeepers opened fire just as the elevator door was about to close. Cloud took the opportunity to take cover in the elevator dragging the injured man with him. He took Colin's keycard from his hand and swiped it pressing the button for the next floor down.

As soon as the elevators closed Cloud looked down at Colin who was lying on the floor holding his chest wound. Cloud kneeled down next to him trying to help him put pressure on the injury. He was losing a lot of blood quickly. The injured man looked up at Cloud.

"You need my card to…staircase," Colin struggled to say.

The keycard Cloud was holding in his hand was now covered in blood. By the time the elevator reached the next floor Colin was dead.

When the door opened Cloud peeked out to make sure the coast was clear. He exited the elevator and walked down the hallway looking for the emergency exit. He continued on until he came across a door with an exit sign above it. He pushed the door open and entered the stairwell. He took a second to listen for anyone but it appeared to be empty. He then proceeded to walk up towards the top floor.

* * *

The instructions Tifa were following were long and complicated but the more she worked on it the easier it became. Tifa was almost finished decrypting the files when she heard multiple footsteps walk past Reeve's office. She heard the 'ding' of the elevator then someone's voice followed by the sound of gunfire.

She knew she had to hurry before she was found out. Once she was finished she put the memory card into the computer and started to download the files. After a few seconds she was startled by the sound of her phone ringing. It was Genesis calling.

"Hello," she said answering.

"Tifa," she head Genesis say on the other end. "Do you have the files?"

"I'm saving them now," she informed him.

"We have enemies making their way towards you. It's too dangerous to go back down. I have sent some renegades to help you reach the roof. I'm on my way." Genesis informed her before hanging up.

Tifa put her phone back in her pocket and looked at the computer. The download was 76% complete. By now the gunfire had stopped and Tifa listened for any sign of activity outside. There was silence. Tifa looked back at the computer and the download was complete. She checked the drive to make sure it was saved then removed the memory card putting it back in her pocket.

Tifa got up from the desk and walked over to the door. She opened it and looked out to see two peacekeepers standing out front with their backs to her. They turned when they heard her walk out.

"This way," one of the peacekeepers informed her before he started to walk towards the emergency exit.

She followed them down the hallway, through the exit and up the stairs towards the rooftop. Cloud had entered the stairwell just as they reached the roof. He ran up the stairs to the top floor and was about to swipe the card to enter when he heard the door to the rooftop slam shut above him. He decided to follow the sound and continued up the stairs towards the rooftop exit.

When Cloud walked through the door he saw Tifa standing on the roof with two peacekeepers standing behind her closer to him. They all had their backs turned to him. The two peacekeepers were holding guns and Cloud assumed they were going to attack Tifa. He charged them with his sword raised. He was so focused on getting to Tifa he slayed the guards before they even realized he was there.

As soon as they dropped to the ground he stopped to look at Tifa who had turned to face him. He was so relieved to see her as wave of emotions passed through him. It felt like years since he last laid eyes on her and she was even more beautiful then he remembered. She just stood there staring at him blankly; no smile, no gin, nothing.

"Tifa," Cloud said taking a step towards her. She glared at him and raised her fists in self-defense. Cloud was hurt by this. He didn't want to believe it but she really didn't recognize him. "Don't you remember me?"

"No, Should I?" She asked crossly. She was angry at him for killing the two men trying to help her.

Before Cloud could answer an airship approached them and hovered above while James, Katerina and Weiss jumped out onto the roof behind Tifa. Cloud raised his sword at the sight of his enemies. They were about to attack when Tifa raised her arm out signaling for them to stop. Tifa was already mad at Cloud for attacking the guards and she didn't want to see her friends get hurt.

"I got this," she told them then instantly rushed Cloud. She tried to deliver a roundhouse kick but Cloud jumped back avoiding the attack.

"Tifa, I can't fight you," Cloud told her but she continued to charge at him.

He could never raise his sword against the woman he loved so he had no choice but to try to block and dodge her attacks. He knew she was more skilled in unarmed combat so this was not going to be easy.

* * *

When Yuffie reached the top floor of the stairwell she looked out into the hallway to make sure the coast was clear before entering. There was no one around so she quickly made her way back to Reeve's office. She knew he kept a gun in there somewhere.

She walked over to his desk and looked through the drawers trying to locate the weapon. The bottom drawer was locked so she used her bobby pin to open it. Inside was a bottle of sake, a glass and a handgun. She grabbed the gun and was about to shut the drawer when she took a second look at the bottle of liquor. Shrugging, she grabbed the bottle and took a swig before placing it back in the drawer.

She then looked over at the desk behind her with the security monitor, which was now working, to get a sense at what was happing. By now almost all the floors had peacekeepers and administrative staff walking the corridors holding weapons. Some of the lower floors had a few staff lying dead in the hallways or in their offices. She switched the cameras and in the cafeteria she noticed a group of around fifteen people kneeling with their hands on their heads surrounded by five peacekeepers with guns. It was obvious they were hostages and she knew she had to find a way to help them.

Then her phone vibrated. It was a text message from Vincent telling her he was in Junon but the front entrance to the building was locked. She figured they locked the entrance to keep people from entering and exiting. Looking at the security screen she could see the ground floor was heavily armed with assailants. She texted Vincent back and told him to fly up to Reeve's office balcony. Then she walked over and unlocked the balcony door. A few minutes later Chaos landed and changed back before entering.

"What's going on?" Vincent asked her.

"The place is being overrun," she explained to him. "They have hostages in the cafeteria."

"Who's doing this," he asked.

"I donno, they are all employees." She recognized most of the assailants as people who had been working with the WRO for years. "The cafeteria is on the third floor directly under us," she explained to him.

Yuffie walked over to the security monitor to show Vincent. Almost every floor had people patrolling the hallways with the third and ground floors heavily occupied. Not only were there five assailants inside the cafeteria there were two people standing outside the door and multiple people patrolling the surrounding hallway. Surprisingly there was no one patrolling their floor. Yuffie assumed this was because the assailants did not find anyone when they inspected it earlier.

Suddenly Yuffie's phone started to vibrate. She looked and it was Cid calling.

"Cid," she said answering the phone then paused for a second. "Reeve, where are you? The building is completely overrun and they have hostages in the cafeteria. Vincent's with me." She paused again listing to Reeve speak. "Okay," she said before hanging up then looked over at Vincent. "They're twenty minutes away," she informed the ex-Turk. "We should go help the hostages before they get here. There's only five guys in there. How about I sneak in while you cover me from the outside?"

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Vincent asked.

"What? You don't think I can sneak down there undetected?" She asked. She was a little insulted that he was questing her ninja skills.

"It's not that," Vincent started to say but stopped himself. He was going to comment on her ability to be stealthy in her current attire. She was wearing a short skirt, high heels, and a tight blouse but something was telling him it was best not to go there. "Never mind," he said agreeing to go along with her plan.

They agreed on a strategy and Yuffie took one last look at the security monitor to get a good idea on how she was going to proceed then she exited the office towards the stairwell. Vincent transformed and exited via the balcony.

Yuffie silently made her way down the stairs making sure to listen for anyone approaching. As she walked she discovered it was hard to be completely silent in her high heels so she ditched them in the stairwell and continued barefoot.

When she reached the third floor she slowly opened the door a crack and peeked out. A peacekeeper had just walked away and turned the corner out of sight meaning the coast was clear. She entered into the hallway and walked three doors down making sure to count the doors as she walked. She entered the fourth office quietly shutting the door behind her.

In the office was a man lying on the floor dead next to the door and Yuffie inadvertently stepped into the pool of blood next to the body. She was grossed out but forced herself not to make a sound. She walked across the room and jumped up onto the desk by the wall.

Making sure the safety was on she tucked the gun into the waistband of her skirt. Then on her tiptoes she managed to remove the air vent cover from the wall and proceeded to crawl up into the vent. On the desk a piece of paper had stuck to her blood covered foot and she attempted to kick it off trying to make as little noise as possible. Since it was a tight squeeze in the vent she couldn't reach back to remove the paper but after a few kicks it finally fell off.

She started to slowly crawl through the vent but did not realize how dirty and dusty it was up there being such as old building. As she crawled, the dirt and grime was sticking to every part of her that was touching the vent. She also realized how difficult it was to maneuver in such a tight skirt. To make matters worse her shirt was repeatedly catching on the tips of the screws that were screwed into the vent causing little rips in her clothes as she crawled.

After a few minutes of crawling she finally reached the cafeteria. There was a little opening in the vent where she could look down through the vent cover under her to see where exactly she was and what was going on. Luckily she was directly above three of the assailants who were standing next to the hostages talking to them. She could not locate the other two from her position.

Yuffie reached for the gun and flicked off the safety. Suddenly she felt the vent shift abruptly and she was about to slowly back up when instantly the vent shifted again and split opened under her. She crashed down through the ceiling tile on top of two of the assailants breaking her fall.

Everyone in the room was shocked to see a very messy looking girl fall from the ceiling. As soon as she landed on the two men in a sitting positon she immediately aimed her gun at the third man shooting him in the head dead before he had a chance to react. A few feet away from her the other two men were about to open fire when the window to the cafeteria shattered and the sound of two shots were heard followed by the men dropping to the floor dead. One of the men she was sitting on was about to reach for his weapon next to him when Yuffie pointed her gun at his face directing him not to move.

Immediately Chaos came flying into the room and two of the female hostages let out a cry at the sight of the monster. Vincent transformed back and walked over to Yuffie pointing his gun at the two assailants as she got up off of them. One was unconscious and the other put his hands up in the air surrendering.

Yuffie immediately ran across the room and locked the door before anyone outside realized what was going on but it was too late. As soon as she locked it someone from the outside started banging on the door trying to get in.

"We need to find a way out of here," Yuffie told Vincent.

She reached into her skirt pocket for her phone to call Cid but before she could call they heard the airship outside and a rope ladder came flying down in front of the big window.

"Right on time," Yuffie said then she directed the hostages towards the window.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Friday part 3

The battle between Cloud and Tifa was starting to take its toll on Cloud but Tifa appeared unfazed. She was unrelenting in her attacks and he could tell she was not holding anything back. Cloud was finding it increasingly difficult to block her blows and not retaliating was leaving him vulnerable. So far she was able to land a few good kicks and punches leaving Cloud sore and debilitated. Especially after she landed her final heaven punch that he was unable to block; that was going to leave a big bruise on his side. He was so focused on blocking her attacks he couldn't even get a chance to say anything to her.

Meanwhile James, Weiss and Katerina were standing watching the battle between the two. By now Alex had landed the airship on the rooftop and joined his comrades.

"Aren't we here to help her?" Alex asked as soon as he joined the group.

"I don't think she needs any help," James commented watching the sexy girl kick some ass. He was not in any hurry to break up the fight; he could watch this all day.

"Won't Genesis be pissed if he sees this?" Katerina asked Weiss looking over at him. "He specifically said he didn't want them running into each other."

Before Weiss could respond Genesis flew down onto the rooftop next to his comrades. Upon seeing him Tifa stopped what she was doing and looked over. Cloud took the opportunity to quickly catch his breath.

"Tifa," Genesis called to her and she proceeded to run over to him.

"It's time to go. Do you have the files?" he asked her as she handed him the memory card and Reeve's key card. Then Genesis looked at Weiss. "Bring her back to the house," he directed his brother. They both proceeded to run towards the airship.

Seeing Tifa fleeing Cloud was not going to let her get away from him again. Even if she didn't remember him he was going to keep trying. If he could just get some time alone with her he knew he could help her remember. He knew her better than anyone.

Cloud was about to run after her when Genesis and the other three drew their swords ready to attack him. They were not going to let him leave that easily. Suddenly the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the distance. Cloud knew what that sound meant but the others looked around wondering where the noise was coming from.

Then the Shinra helicopter came flying up over the building with Reno and Elena hanging out of either end holding machine guns. The Turks opened fire sending an array of bullets directly at Genesis and the others. The four jumped out of the way before the bullets could land a hit. While the two Turks fired at Genesis and James the other two started to attack the helicopter with their swords.

This allowed Cloud a chance to make a break for the airship. By now it had already lifted off and was about to fly away. Cloud ran to the end of the rooftop and jumped just making it onto the top of the shuttle. As soon as Cloud landed he drove his sword into the metal under him in order to hold on. After a few minutes of holding on he looked around for a way in and spotted an escape hatch on top. He turned the latch and opened it jumping inside.

When Cloud entered Weiss and Tifa were sitting in the cockpit with Weiss piloting the aircraft. Upon seeing Cloud, Tifa got up from her chair and walked back to confront him.

Seeing Tifa approach Cloud prepared himself for another attack. She lunged trying to kick Cloud in the torso but he caught her foot throwing her backwards. He had to start defending himself or he risked injuring himself further in such an enclosed space. He was already seriously battered from the last fight and didn't know how much more he could take. Tifa charged him again and they started struggling. Cloud managed to grasp both her wrists to prevent her from hitting him. She tried freeing herself from his grip but he was too strong.

After a minute of struggling the bay door located at the back of the aircraft opened and the plane started to tilt upwards causing them both to lose their footing. As they slid towards the back of the plane Cloud was able to catch himself on the end of a seat but Tifa was not as lucky and started to slide towards the opening. Cloud tried to grab hold of her but she was out of reach. Just when she was about to fall out of the aircraft Cloud let go of the seat diving after her. He reached her in midair and hugged her tight as she tried to struggle to break free. Realizing there was no point in struggling she gave up.

As they fell through the sky with Cloud holding Tifa he was able to position himself so he was under her in order to try to break her fall. He didn't know if his plan would work but he had to try. At least then one of them would have a chance at survival and he would rather it be Tifa.

As they plummeted Tifa wondered why this man would risk his life to try to save her. She didn't think they were going to make it and the only thing on her mind was her daughter and not being able to see her grow up. Accepting the inevitable Tifa closed her eyes as they plunged into the ocean below.

* * *

Genesis was annoyed for letting himself and his team be distracted by the Turks. But at least he could take some satisfaction in the knowledge that they were able to take down the helicopter as it tried to flee. He hoped the Turks were not able to escape before it crashed into the city below.

As they stood on the rooftop Genesis pulled out a small computer like device from his jacket pocket and inserted the memory card Tifa gave him. She managed to get all the files he requested but right now he was looking for one in particular. The other three were silent as Genesis studied the information in front of him. After a few seconds of reading a surprised look appeared on his face.

"What is it?" Katerina asked noticing Genesis' expression.

"It's under the building," Genesis informed them. He was very surprised by this because he was certain that due to its size they would have concealed it in the Midgar ruins or in a secure facility somewhere.

"Wow, they must have a big basement," Alex commented.

"Good thing we called in Plan B," Katerina remarked. "All we have to do now is stroll down there."

At first Genesis was worried that by calling in Plan B so soon all the chaos would make it harder for Tifa to secure the files and would alert the others to their plan before they found what they were looking for. Lucky for them Reeve had it hidden right under their noses so all the worrying was for nothing. He had his doubts but again Miles' plan worked. Tifa was able to secure the files exactly as predicted and they were able to take control of the two Headquarters with little resistance.

"Let's go," Genesis told the others as they exited the rooftop into the building.

* * *

When Cloud and Tifa fell out of the aircraft Weiss considered doubling back to look for them but something was telling him not to. The chances of locating them in the massive body of water was slim so he decided to go back to the house and update Miles.

When he reached the house he found Miles in the kitchen cooking dinner. Weiss walked in through the back door and sat down at the table. Miles waited for a few seconds and looked at the spiky haired man.

"Where's Tifa?" he asked Weiss. He was expecting her to be with him.

"Bit of a problem there," he informed the scientist casually. "She fell out of the plane on the way here."

"What?!" Miles turned away from the stove looking at Weiss very upset. "How did it happen?"

"Simple. The bay door opened and they fell into the ocean," Weiss said bluntly while leaning back in the chair. "I circled back looking for her but they fell from 3000 feet…" He lied. He didn't say it but he figured there was a good chance they were dead anyways.

"They?" Miles asked wondering who exactly he was referring to.

"Tifa and her boyfriend," Weiss replied with an evil grin trying to make Miles angry.

Miles glared at Weiss. He didn't like Cloud being referred to as her boyfriend. If they were alive finding them would be like finding a needle in a haystack. He was concerned about Tifa and equally concerned that the more time she spent with him the greater the chance she will figure out the truth. Over the last few months Miles had become very accustomed to the way things were and he didn't want to let it go. At least not without a fight.

"Did she recognize him?" Miles asked Weiss.

"She was fighting him when they fell out so I don't think so."

"Good," Miles said turning back to the stove. He tasted the sauce he was cooking then turned off the burner. "We'll leave before dawn tomorrow. I still have a few things to take care first," he added then left to go get Chloe for dinner.

* * *

Cloud awoke to the sound of a campfire cracking. Without opening his eyes he knew he was lying on the ground and it was nighttime. His whole body ached. The last thing he remembered was holding Tifa and hitting the water. He must have been knocked unconscious by the impact. He opened his eyes and looked over to see Tifa sitting on the other side of the fire gazing into the flames. He was relieved to see she was okay. She looked preoccupied with something like she had a lot on her mind.

Cloud slowly sat up and looked over at her. Noticing he was awake she was now watching him with her big brown mako eyes.

"Thanks for saving me," she said to him with a serious expression. She was sitting with her legs bent in front of her and her arms wrapped around them like she was cold.

After they crashed into the Ocean Tifa spent hours swimming to shore with Cloud. It was late by the time she reached land and she was exhausted so she started a fire before it became too dark.

"Thanks for pulling me out of the water," Cloud said back.

He really didn't know where to start. He had so much to talk to her about but didn't want to scare her away or start another fight. He missed her so much all he wanted to do was go over and hold her. Realizing he was staring at her Cloud turned his attention to the fire.

There were a few seconds of awkward silence while they both watched the fire. Tifa looked over at Cloud who looked deep in thought. Looking at him she couldn't help but feel that there was something about his eyes that seemed familiar. This was the first time she had a familiar feeling since she was told she had amnesia.

She studied Cloud's face trying hard to remember but nothing. Other than his eyes she didn't recognize anything about him. She didn't even know his name. Miles had told her about people from her past but he never mentioned this man. She could tell he was like herself and Genesis because he had mako eyes and was strong. She wondered why he was not working with them. Her friends referred to him as the enemy so there must be something about him that she wasn't aware of. She had no clue why he was following her or why he risked his life for her.

"So why did you do it?" she asked gazing over at him.

"Do what?" Cloud asked directing his attention from the fire to Tifa.

"Risk your life trying to save me," Tifa explained. She really wanted to know what his intentions were. Maybe he was just using her to get to her friends.

Cloud paused for a second before responding.

"Tifa, I would do anything for you." He told her sincerely. He didn't know what else to say other than the complete truth.

"What is your name?" she asked him. Over the last few months she had grown accustomed to not remembering people but there was something about him that made her feel annoyed with herself for not remembering.

"Cloud," he replied.

It really hurt him that she didn't even know his name. He felt so helpless not knowing what he could do to fix her and make her remember. They had so much history together and the thought of her not remembering everything they've been through upset him.

"Sorry I don't recognize that name. So how do you know me?" she asked him. She had no way of knowing if what he was telling her was true but she figured she should ask.

Cloud paused not sure how to answer. He then decided to start from the beginning hoping it might trigger a memory of him.

"We've known each other since we were children. We both grew up in Nibelhiem together," he informed her hoping she might remember.

The only few memories Tifa still had were when she was young but most of it was blurry. She remembered what her parents looked like. She also remembered her father being killed by Sephiroth in the reactor and the hatred she felt towards Shinra. Everything else surrounding that incident was blurry. She remembered that her mother was sick and died when she was a child. She remembered the name of her home town but she couldn't remember anyone else from her past or even what her hometown looked like. When Miles told her she use to fight against Shinra she believed him because she could remember the hatred she had towards the company.

"Sorry, I don't remember much from my past…" she informed him.

There was a pause while Cloud tried to think of something that might jog her memory. Then he remembered something.

"When I was 13 years old I asked you to meet me outside by the town well. It was a starry night when I told you I was leaving to go to Midgar to join SOLDIER. You told me if I ever succeed and become famous I had to promise to come rescue you if you were ever in danger." Cloud looked at her intensely hoping it would jog her memory.

Tifa thought about what he said for a few seconds before answering.

"So did you keep your promise and rescue me?" she asked him a little curious. She was a very independent person and couldn't see herself saying something like that now but maybe she was different as a teenager.

"No," he informed her a little disappointed she didn't remember. "If anything you rescued me," he added truthfully. Tifa saved him in the lifestream and he couldn't even be there for her when she needed him the most.

Tifa felt bad. Clearly he felt she had a great impact on his life and she couldn't even remember him.

"The one time you were in danger I couldn't even save you in time. That's how you got that scar." He informed her.

Tifa was surprised he knew about her scar. She always wondered about it and when she asked Miles he said he didn't know. Cloud seemed to know so much about her she was starting to think he was telling the truth.

"So, you use to be in SOLDIER?" she asked him changing the subject. It seemed like discussing their past was starting to upset him.

"Not exactly," he replied.

"So how did you get your mako eyes?" she asked him.

"The same as you," he informed her. "I was abducted and experimented on." He had to tell her the truth and hopefully she would believe him.

Tifa glared at Cloud.

"I was not part of some experiment," she corrected him abruptly.

"Is that what he told you?" Cloud asked scowling. He was so angry at Miles for what he done to her he couldn't even say his name.

"Yes, Miles saved my life." Tifa knew who he was referring to.

Hearing his name made Cloud furious.

"He's the reason you have amnesia!" Cloud snapped starting to become impatient.

"That's not true!" Tifa snapped back.

She had amnesia because she was injured trying to blow up the Mt. Nibel reactor. It was obvious he hated Miles and she didn't want to believe him. She decided that she was done talking with Cloud. All she could think about was getting home to Chloe. She missed her daughter so much she just wanted to hold her and never let her go. She proceeded to lay down on the ground next to the fire turning her back to him.

"Goodnight," she said bitterly before going to sleep.

Cloud felt bad for getting upset. It was not her fault she was fed lies and was manipulated by an evil scientist. He regretted snapping at her and now she doesn't even want to talk to him. He decided to try again first thing in the morning.

"Goodnight," he said softly before lying down on the ground.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 - Saturday

It was before sunrise when Tifa awoke. She looked over to see Cloud still sleeping with his back turned to her. Anxious to get home she walked towards the forest leaving the sleeping Cloud behind.

It took over half a day of walking but she finally made it home. She was so relieved when she walked through the forest and entered the clearing. She was about to rush towards the front entrance when she heard something in the woods behind her. She turned around to see Cloud step out from some thick brush.

"Why are you following me?" She asked him starting to get annoyed with his stalking. All she wanted to do right now was see her daughter.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said trying to make amends.

"Now's not a good time," she said as she walked towards the front door of the house with Cloud following. She walked in and it didn't seem like anyone was home.

"Chloe! Miles!" she called out as she searched the house.

Cloud stopped near the entrance while Tifa raced upstairs to see if Chloe was napping.

"Who's Chloe?" Cloud asked her as she walked down the stairs towards him after checking all the bedrooms.

"My daughter," Tifa responded casually as she walked pass him towards the kitchen on her way to check the basement.

"Daughter?!" Cloud asked in shock. Suddenly a wave of questions raced through his mind. Cloud followed Tifa through the kitchen trying to get more information. "How old is she?" he asked her as she was walking down into the basement with him following.

"Almost 5 months," Tifa said not really giving the questions much thought.

She was starting to get very worried about the house being empty. She checked the basement and nothing. That meant the only place left was the shed.

"5 months? How could you leave your infant daughter with that man?" Cloud asked her a little upset. How could she be so irresponsible leaving her baby with a stranger? Not to mention he was a Shinra scientist; who knows what he would do to their child.

By now Tifa was walking back up the steps towards the back door. She was starting to become very annoyed with Cloud following her and asking all these questions about her daughter. Now that he was questioning her parenting skills he crossed the line. Tifa stopped and turned to look at him face to face. She was standing two steps ahead of him on the stairs so she was looking down at him.

"First off," she snapped at him glaring. "What gives you the right to question what I do with my daughter? Secondly, that man is her father so yes I left her in his care." She then turned and continued walking up the steps towards the backdoor.

"Her Father?!" Cloud questioned out loud.

Hearing her refer to Miles as the father made Cloud's blood boil. Not only had this man brainwashed the woman he loves he had taken his child away from him too. The next time he saw Miles he was going to kill him. Cloud didn't know what to do. If he tried to tell Tifa he was the father she wouldn't believe him. He knew she didn't trust him and he wanted to earn back her trust before he said anything.

Once outside Tifa checked the shed but it was empty. Her phone didn't work anymore after her fall into the ocean and the house didn't have a landline. She didn't want to believe it but she assumed Miles took Chloe to Edge. It angered her that he would bring their daughter to such as dangerous place especially considering what they had planned.

Tifa turned to look at Cloud who was standing behind her.

"Does your phone work?" she asked him.

Cloud pulled out his phone which was luckily waterproof and handed it to her. She tried to call Miles but there was no answer. This worried Tifa even more.

"I need to get to Edge," she informed him handing back his phone. If it meant finding her daughter she was willing to put aside their differences.

"I know some people who can help," Cloud informed Tifa opening his phone to call his friends.

* * *

It was before noon by the time the shuttle reached Edge. When Weiss and Miles landed on the rooftop of the headquarters they were greeted by Genesis. Weiss exited followed by Miles carrying a napping Chloe.

"Where's Tifa?" Genesis asked noticing she was not with them.

"Weiss lost her on their way back to the house," Miles informed Genesis nonchalantly. "So the weapon was here all along," he said changing the subject. He was upset about Tifa but he had more important things to worry about right now. Other than Tifa missing everything was working out better than expected. He was wondering why the files were located in the Edge and not their main headquarters Junon. This could have been one of the reasons. "What about the other files? What information do they contain?" Miles asked.

Genesis smiled.

"Shinra military designs, account details, armory locations, payroll information. He even has his financial statements to Rufus in here." He informed Miles. Some of this information alone could ruin Reeve's organization if it were leaked.

"Good," Miles replied as they entered the building through the rooftop entrance. Now that they had secured both buildings and eliminated almost all of remaining loyal WRO members Reeve's army as he knew it had been eliminated. "With this weapon Reeve and the others will not be able to stop us," Miles said while carefully adjusting the sleeping child in his arms as he walked.

Reeve was not the only thing he had to worry about. Miles knew it would just be a matter of time before Cloud found out about the girl and will come for her. He needed to be ready and they still had lots of work to do.

* * *

It was late evening by the time they Shera arrived. They met the airship just outside the forest and boarded to see that it was carrying a full load. Onboard was Reeve, Vincent, Yuffie, Cid, Nanakin, Barret, and all four Turks.

Reeve explained to Cloud the reason for the delay in picking them up. He told them about what happened in Junon and that they took the hostages to somewhere safe. Then they went to Corel to pick up Barret and shortly after that they received a call from the Turks telling them their helicopter crashed in Edge so they picked them up at the airfield.

As Tifa walked on the bridge of the airship everyone was excited and overjoyed to see she was okay. Yuffie ran up giving her a big hug which caused Tifa to feel very awkward not knowing who the girl was.

"Oh my god Tifa!" Yuffie said squeezing her tight. "I'm so happy you're okay!" she added releasing the woman.

"Thanks…" Tifa said not knowing the girls name. Before she could ask Barret came walking up to her.

"Tifa, we found ya'!" Barret said with a big smile. "I can't wait to give Marlene and Denzel the good news."

Tifa felt embarrassed. All these people obviously knew her well and seemed to be very excited to see her. She felt bad for not knowing who any of them were. She didn't recognize any of these people and to her they looked like a mismatched group but at the same time being with them made her feel oddly comfortable and cheerful. There was a positive feeling about this group that made her feel good considering she was worried about her daughter. This positive vibe she was getting from the group surprised her considering they were all strangers and were supposedly the enemy. This was now the second time she had a familiar feeling in two days. It felt like she had been here before; on this ship with these people. It was starting to really bother her why she never had this familiar feeling after eight months of living in her own home. She couldn't help but think that maybe Cloud was telling the truth and Miles lied to her.

"I'm so sorry I don't recognize any of you," Tifa informed the group truthfully.

Reeve did warn everyone of Tifa's amnesia prior to her arrival but they were all hoping she might remember them.

Cloud walked up next to Tifa and started to introduce everyone.

"These are all our good friends," he told her. "That's Yuffie and Barret." He said introducing the two people closest to her. "The man up there piloting the ship is Cid and next to him is Vincent."

"Hey girly!" Cid said giving the girl a big smile from behind the controls. Vincent was standing behind Cid and gave Tifa a nod.

"Hello," Tifa replied smiling.

"That's Nanakin," Cloud said pointing to the feline sitting near the staircase leading up to the controls.

"Good to see you Tifa," Nankin greeted her.

"Thanks…." Tifa said a little surprised to hear the beast talk. She thought he was a pet.

"These four are the Turks," Cloud continued motioning to the group standing near the window. "That's Rude, Tseng, Elena and Reno."

"Yo," Reno said greeting her while Elena gave a little waive.

"Nice meeting you," Tifa replied.

"And I think you know Reeve," Cloud told her.

Reeve was standing near the Turks at the head of the bridge by the window. Tifa didn't know what to think about him. She was informed by Miles and the others that he was a bad man but she was beginning to question everything Miles told her.

"Hi Tifa," Reeve greeted her smiling.

Tifa didn't respond but forced a smile at him. Now that she was introduced to everyone it was time to plan the next course of action. They all stood around while Reeve update them on the situation.

"It appears that both the Junon and Edge headquarters have been overrun. We know most of the assailants are WRO employees but what we don't know is how they were compromised." Reeve explained to the group.

Tifa knew the answer and debated whether she should tell him. On one hand he was the enemy but on the other hand they were all helping her. Plus if she did tell Reeve it wouldn't change anything since her friends had already succeeded at securing the buildings so it wouldn't hurt if he knew.

"I know how," Tifa informed Reeve from the back of the bridge. Everyone looked back at her waiting for her to continue. "Many of the people you hired were Deepground spies whose job was to keep tabs on Shinra by posing as employees. It was called project Renegade," she explained.

She was close to Genesis and over the last few months they would spend hours talking. One time Genesis told her that when he was searching the Midgar ruins he discovered the identities of all the project Renegade spies so he tracked them down and convinced them to work for the WRO, if they weren't already working for the organization. Even after all these years they continued to stay loyal to Deepground.

Hearing this Reno looked over at Elena and shot her an 'I told you so' look after finding out his Deepground theory was correct. Elena rolled her eyes in response.

"Thank you Tifa," Reeve said to her for filling them in. Hearing this he couldn't help but feel like a fool for being played by Deepground.

"So what's on the files they're after?" Cid asked Reeve. They captain asked the one thing they were all thinking.

"There's lot of secret information on that drive," Reeve explained. "They could be after a number of things." Everyone in the room knew Reeve well enough to know he was hiding something.

"Why don't you tell them?" Tifa asked Reeve from the back of the room with her arms folded glaring at him. She knew he was keeping the truth from the rest of them.

Everyone looked at Tifa then turned to face Reeve waiting for an explanation. It was not like Reeve to keep secrets like this. He was usually very transparent about everything.

Reeve sighed. He knew he had to come clean or risk losing everyone's trust.

"A few years ago one of my teams stumbled across some very powerful Shinra weapons, one in particular, when searching the Midgar ruins so I secured them and put them in a safe place," he explained.

Tsang looked at Reeve with stern expression.

"I thought those prototypes were to be destroyed," he said. The Turk leader did not look pleased with this news.

All eyes were on Reeve waiting for an explanation. He was ashamed of his actions but at the time he felt his decision was justified.

"This was my decision and I will accept the responsibilities. At the time I decided to not destroy the weapons in order to assist the WRO and help create a level playing field," he explained.

"You told Rufus you would destroy them. You actually thought it was a good idea to keep weapons of mass destruction lying around?" Tsang snapped. He was very socked by Reeve's actions. It was not like him to go against his word like this.

Tseng's comment angered Reeve. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't think it was for the greater good and the Turk had no right questing his decision as the leader of his army.

"Rufus does not have a world to protect," he snapped back at Tseng. "Do you know how many innocent people died in the battle with Deepground? How about Meteor? In less than 5 years the world was almost destroyed on two separate occasions and thousands of lives lost. Meteor, Omega; this is not as simple as people fighting people like the wars of the past. Our enemies have superior strength and the power to wipe out the thousands who stand in their way. THEY are not human and I will use anything that can help us avoid casualties in the future," Reeve argued loudly. It was apparent that he was upset and this hit a nerve. Everyone was silent until Tifa spoke up.

"They? You mean people like me?" Tifa said to Reeve upset with his choice of words. It was obvious to her that he was referring to anyone with Jenova cell like Genesis and herself. She really didn't like idea of being referred to as not human. The way Reeve was talking it sounded like Weiss when he talked about the 'humans'. Genesis would often tell Weiss not to talk like that but after listening to Reeve part of her could understand why Weiss felt the way he did.

"I didn't mean it like that," Reeve tried apologizing to Tifa but she had already walked off the bridge. A few seconds later Cloud left to go find her.

"Not cool Reeve," Reno said to him shaking his head disappointed.

"So what kind of weapons are we looking at?" Cid asked looking between Reeve and Tsang. To him there was no point worrying about why Reeve did what he did. It was too late now and they needed to focus on the problem at hand.

"Think Proud Clod but larger and more powerful," Tsang explained.

* * *

When Tifa exited the bridge she walked down the corridor and stopped at a window gazing out into the night's sky trying to calm herself down. A few second later Cloud came out to join her.

"How can you be friends with him?" Tifa asked still looking out of the window.

"He wasn't referring to us," Cloud explained standing next to her. "He has fought alongside us for years and has seen a lot of good people die at the hands of very bad people."

Tifa turned to look at him with a serious expression. She knew she would never fight alongside someone who was connected to Shinra.

"I would never work with someone like him," Tifa corrected him then shifted her gaze back to the window.

After a few seconds he turned to look at her with a serious expression on her face.

"Listen Tifa, everyone in that room cares about you and when you went missing a little piece of them went missing too. We're a family and no matter what we say to each other sometime we will always be there for one another."

Cloud paused and looked out the window while Tifa thought about what he said. Cloud smiled thinking about something and decided to share it with Tifa.

"You probably don't know this but your real home is in Edge and you own a bar called 7th Heaven. We always have friends staying with us and it gets so crowed but you love it that way. You take care of everyone cooking for them and you enjoy listening to all the commotion. It's because it was just you and your father growing up and your house was so empty it made you feel lonely as a child. We have two children who live with us, Denzel and Marlene, they love you so much." Cloud looked over at her hoping she believed him.

Tifa smiled. This sounded exactly like her. When she was staying with the others near Mideel she loved having the house full and preparing food for everyone. That would explain why she loved being a mother so much taking care of Chloe.

Tifa glanced over at him with a grin.

"So how did you feel when I went missing?" she asked him a little curious.

"For eight months I searched every corner of the planet looking for you and I was not going to rest until I found you," he informed her looking at her with a serious expression. Tifa believed him.

They had been apart for so long Cloud wanted nothing more than to hold her. Having to restrain himself around her was driving him crazy.

Tifa gazed into his eyes. There was something about them that made her feel safe. The way they glowed reminded her of Chloe's eyes. She missed her daughter so much; she was so worried about her she could break down crying right now but she forced herself to stay strong.

"Can I ask you something?" Cloud asked her sincerely.

"What?" she asked him still gazing into his eyes.

"If you don't remember anything from your past how do you know if everything he told you is true?" he asked her.

Tifa looked away thinking about Cloud's question. Truthfully she had no way of knowing if what he said was true. At first she trusted him because he knew who she was and knew personal details about her like her mako exposure. Plus his explanation of things seemed to make since at the time so she believed him. But after the last two days she was starting to have doubts. The way she was feeling on this aircraft and being with Cloud; it felt so right.

"I guess I have no way of knowing for sure," Tifa said truthfully.

"What does your instincts tell you?" Cloud asked tenderly realizing he was starting to get through to her.

Tifa didn't answer and was still looking away from him. She could tell Cloud knew she was having doubts. It was like he could read her thoughts.

"Tifa," he said reaching out taking hold of her hands. "I have loved you ever since I first saw you when I was six years old. You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me and I wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for you." She gazed back up into his bright blue eyes as he held her hands tight. "When you first told me you were pregnant with our child it was one of the happiest moments of my life and I will do anything it takes to make us a family again."

Listening to him she had no doubt in her mind he was telling her the truth. This would explain why his eyes reminded her so much of Chloe. She felt a connection with him that she couldn't explain. It hurt her so much that she couldn't remember anything from their past. It sounded like they were so close and in love. She was starting to develop feelings for him but she couldn't put it into words just yet.

Following her instincts she stepped forward kissing him then after a long kiss she embraced him holding him tight. Cloud was so overjoyed to be able to hold Tifa again after so many months.

"I love you so much," he said holding her tight nuzzling his face into her neck. Now that he had Tifa back into his life he knew they could do anything.

After everything that just happened and worrying about her daughter, it was starting to overwhelm Tifa. As she stood there embracing him tears were starting to form in her eyes. Sensing she was upset he tried to comfort her.

"Don't worry," he told her. "Everything is going to be okay."

After a few minutes Tifa stepped back and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"We should go back in," she told him. They were going to be near Edge soon and they needed to have a plan.

* * *

Miles was an ignorant fool. He was a sorry excuse for a scientist and an embarrassment to the title. He had no idea about the forces he was messing with and there were many times over the last few months where Hojo wanted nothing more than to run the young man through with his sword. It irritated him that Miles thought he knew enough about his reunion theory to fully comprehend his experiment. At most Miles only understood a portion of what he was trying to accomplish years ago in the Shinra manor laboratory. All Hojo wanted was Sephiroth clones he could control the way Jenova controlled its hosts. But years later he now realized that no experiment could be as powerful as his greatest accomplishment. Sephiroth was the only being strong enough to assimilate with Jenova and control it from within the lifestream.

Jenova is very powerful and cunning organism. Its cell act like a parasite assimilating with the host's cells taking control of the body and mind. After years of experiments he learned that only a select few are strong enough to repel its immense power. Those infected before birth like Sephiroth and Angeal usually develop resistance to it. Stronger beings like members of SOLDIER usually fare well but weaker beings like the Nibelhiem survivors he used as part of his reunion theory were no match for the Jenova cell. He wished he had of thought of that before he injected himself with its cells. He thought he would be strong enough to resist the Jenova cells but he was wrong. Once he realized he was losing the battle with Jenova over control of his mind and body he uploaded a copy of his memories and personality into the Worldwide Network. But it was too late and a piece of Jenova followed him. Although their consciousness remained separated in the virtual world for the years he was trapped there he could sense its presence lurking in the dark corners of the network.

Genesis and the others thought when Weiss and Omega were defeated Hojo was destroyed. Even Weiss himself thought the scientist inside him was terminated when his body merged with Nero's but it was going to take a lot more than that to destroy his consciousness. Over the last few months Hojo had been taking a back seat observing and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike without Weiss even realizing what was inside him.

Weiss didn't even realize that it was him who opened the door on the aircraft causing Tifa to fall. He needed to get her out of the way in order to complete his mission. And Miles actually thought that everything up to this point was all his own doing but in reality Hojo was nudging him in the right direction this whole time.

The only thing Miles managed to get right was trying to recreate project S. It irritated him that the cocky youth believed that he could actually improve on one of his experiments but Hojo was going to have the last laugh. Miles was trying to recreate a being as strong as Sephiroth but Hojo had something bigger planned.

Knowing there was a functional virtual reality device in the building all he needed was the child.

* * *

It was one hour to midnight and they were ahead of schedule having prepared everyone for the upcoming battle. Taking a break Miles decided to make his way up to the 37th floor where his old laboratory was located. He was surprised his old keycard still worked for this floor as he assumed Reeve would have deactivated it months ago.

It was here Miles knew he would find something to celebrate. Being very familiar with this floor and the former occupants he walked into the head of corporate services' office. Spotting the cabinet in the corner Miles walked over and opened it revealing a rather large collection of scotch amongst some other liquors. He was usually not much of a drinker but after a long and busy evening he needed something stiff. Inspecting the collection he located an expensive bottle aged 24 years. Taking a glass from the top of the cabinet he poured a small amount and sniffed before drinking it in one gulp.

"Not bad," he said before pouring himself a little more.

Then Genesis walked into the room looking for the scientist.

"Are all the preparations complete?" he asked Miles.

"Yes," Miles replied. "The renegades have been briefed and are in position. The others are still in the basement."

"Good, everything is going according to plan," Genesis said standing behind Miles as the scientist was pouring himself another glass.

"Drink?" Miles asked looking back at the man.

"No, thank you."

"Common, just one," Miles said pouring Genesis the drink anyways. "This is expensive scotch and we should celebrate our good fortune."

Genesis reluctantly agreed. This was as good a time as any to take a break. He looked around for a place to sit. Seeing the dead executive slumped over in the desk chair Genesis walked over to the unoccupied sofa to the left of him and sat down.

"I've been thinking about our plan," Miles said as he placed the bottle of scotch down after pouring the two drinks.

"What about it?" Genesis asked putting his feet up on the glass coffee table in front of him.

"Well, we already have the building, the army and all the weapons. Why don't we use our newfound power to assume the role as the new world leader?" Miles walked over to Genesis with both drinks in his hands and stopped in front of the coffee table.

Genesis frowned.

"The whole purpose of this is to rid the world of all corrupt powers," he said sounding a little aggravated with the suggestion. Miles already knew his feelings on the matter.

Miles shrugged.

"It was just a passing thought," he said handing Genesis a drink.

Genesis accepted the drink and downed the contents then handed the glass back to Miles who had already finished his.

"It's a shame," Miles said holding the two empty glasses looking down at the man with a grin. "I would hate to see all this power go to waste. I know your brother agrees with me."

"Leave Weiss to me," Genesis said as he was about to stand up.

Suddenly Genesis' chest started feel tight and a sharp pain began to shoot down his arm as he struggled to breath. He knew something was wrong and he looked up at Miles to say something but the words could not come out. He tried to walk towards Miles but fell crashing into the coffee table causing it to shatter under him.

Miles smiled looking at Genesis' lifeless body lying face down on the floor. He bent down next to him laying the glasses on the ground and started to look through his jacket pockets trying to locate the keycard.

"Sorry it had to come to this," Miles said when he located the keycard.

He really didn't want to poison the man but he had no choice. He couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. He had an army, weapons and access to all the WRO resources at his fingertips. He would be a fool to throw it away because of Genesis' twisted sense of righteousness. With the keycard in hand Miles walked out of the office shutting the door behind him.

* * *

The basement under the Headquarters was a large cavern like room full of old Shinra technology, prototypes and weapons. It also housed a small armory so needless to say Alex and James were combing through the stockpile of weapons trying to find some new toys. Weiss had disappeared in the back looking for something while Katerina was sitting next to Chloe who was sleeping on a makeshift bed made out of blankets.

Katerina was watching the young girl until her attention shifted away when she heard the elevator door open and Miles stepped out with two other men dressed as peacekeepers.

"Where's Genesis?" Katerina asked the scientist. She had not seen him since earlier today.

"He had some things to take care of," Miles lied. "There's been a slight change of plans."

Hearing Miles' voice Weiss appeared out of nowhere.

"Go retrieve the weapon," Miles directed the two Renegades who left to find the machine.

Katerina gave the scientist a puzzled look.

"I thought Genesis said-," she started to say.

"And I said the plans changed," Miles retorted interrupting her. "Don't worry the rest of the plan remains the same," he said in his regular tone. "They are waiting for you on the ground floor," Miles informed Katerina as he walked over picking up the sleeping girl. "Now if you excuse me I have some things to take care of." He informed the others and exited towards the elevator. Without saying a word Weiss followed Miles and Chloe into the elevator.

By now James and Alex were standing a few feet away from their female comrade observing what just happened.

"What was that about?" Alex asked Katerina noticing how odd Miles was acting.

"Not sure," Katerina said frowning. She walked over to her sword laying on the ground and picked it up strapping it to her back. "Let's go," she said to her friends as they walked towards the elevator waiting for it to descend again.

* * *

As Miles and Weiss stood in the elevator there was silence until Weiss finally spoke up.

"So what about Genesis?" he asked Miles.

"He's been taken care of," Miles said quietly as to not wake the child sleeping in his arms.

"Good," he said with a grin. "Everything's going according to plan."

"Yes, once we take care of Reeve and the others all obstacles will be out of our way," Miles commented. By now the elevator had stooped at the top floor and the two stepped out. "Are you going to guard the entrance?" Miles asked Weiss wondering why he was getting off the elevator with him.

"No, I was going to go to the science research division," Weiss informed Miles. "On what floor is it located?" he asked him unfamiliar with the building.

"Research division?" Miles asked giving him a puzzled look. He had not head a reference to that in years. That's what Shinra's science department was titled. The WRO was nowhere near as advanced when it came to scientific research. "They only have one crude laboratory located on the 37th floor. What do you want with it?"

"I'm looking for a SND machine," he advised Miles. Weiss was one of the few people who could perform a Synaptic Net Dive so this was not a strange request.

"You really think now is a good time?" Miles asked him. "They could be here at any minute."

"Is there one or not?" Weiss asked sounding irritated as they walked towards Reeve's office.

"Yes but-" Miles started to say.

"But what?!" Weiss barked. "With Genesis gone I'm in charge. Deepground is my army after all. Now give me your keycard," he demanded.

By now they were just entering Reeve's office. It was dark with the only source of light being from the outside lights and moonlight shining through the big window. Miles gently placed the girl down on the couch careful not to wake her. Realizing Weiss was right and not wanting to push his luck with the man Miles reluctantly gave him his keycard to the 37th floor.

"I want both of them," Weiss commanded holding his hand out after taking the first card.

"What will I use?" Miles asked. He needed Reeve's key to access every corner of the building.

"That's not my problem," Weiss said as he unsheathed one of his katanas pointing it at Miles while still holding his other hand out. Fearing for his life Miles handed him his last keycard. Weiss lowered the sword while putting the card it in his pocket. "And I'm taking the girl," Weiss said looking over at the sleeping child.

"What, why?" Miles asked surprised.

"I have plans for her," Weiss said taking a step towards the child but Miles stepped in front of him blocking him. Weiss held his sword up again pointing it at Miles' chest as a warning. Miles put his hands up surrendering then stepped to the side.

Weiss walked over to the girl looking down at her. Behind him Miles reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his gun. Before Miles could remove the firearm from his pocket Weiss had already impaled his sword into Miles' right side.

Miles groaned and fell to his knees after Weiss removed his sword. Holding his wound Miles looked up at the spikey haired man in the dim light.

"You fool," Weiss said looking down at the man. "You think you are so smart with you plans and your experiments. You've never had one original idea your whole life. You will never live up to my caliber. If it wasn't for me you would have stayed a nobody on the SOLDIER floor. I picked you, taught you everything you know and you still failed."

In obvious pain Miles gave Weiss a bewildered look.

"Hojo?" he asked not sure what to think.

Weiss smiled at the man. Without saying a word he sheathed his sword and picked up the sleeping child leaving the injured Miles.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Sunday Part. 1

It was a little past midnight and they were a few minutes away from Edge when one of the crew members ran onto the bridge.

"Sir! I just received a radio transmission saying Edge is under attack by the WRO," the man said franticly.

"How long until we reach Edge?" Reeve asked the captain.

"About fifteen minutes," Cid informed him.

Cloud and Tifa were standing together near the entrance. Cloud looked over at Tifa who appeared bothered by the news.

"What is it?" he asked her.

Tifa shook her head.

"This was not part of the plan," she explained to him. "Genesis is only after the WRO. He's trying to help the citizens of Edge, not hurt them. Something's wrong…" Tifa walked over near Reeve who was towards the front of the bridge still talking.

"Our main priority is to stop the aggressors and prevent as many casualties as possible," Reeve advised Cid and the others.

"If I can get into the building I can put a stop to this," Tifa told Reeve.

Her main priority was locating her daughter as soon as possible but she knew if she could find Chloe she'll find the others. Then she could figure out what's going on. She was angry at Miles for lying to her but Genesis and the others were the only people she had known for the last eight months. They were good to her and her daughter so she owed them a chance to explain themselves.

Tifa didn't know who was behind the attack but she was sure it wasn't Genesis. When she was living with him they would spend hours talking so she knew the last thing he wanted to do was hurt innocent people. She didn't want to believe it was Miles but she was beginning to feel that the Miles she thought she knew was a lie. Weiss was the only one she felt was capable of doing this but she didn't think he would turn against Genesis.

"I'm coming with you," Cloud told Tifa walking up next to her.

She turned to Cloud.

"It's best if I go alone," she explained to him. "They trust me."

"Tifa, you know I can't let that happen," Cloud said firmly. "I won't risk losing you again." He gently grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye letting her know he was serious.

Tifa gazed into his blue eyes for a moment. They were so captivating she had to snap herself out of it. She couldn't argue with those eyes and she wondered if her old self would normally cave to him this easily.

Everyone on the bridge just stood there watching the two in silence.

"Fine," Tifa reluctantly agreed. "You can help find Chloe but let me talk to the others," she told him.

"Who's Chloe?" Barret asked Tifa and Cloud wondering if he missed something.

"Our daughter," Cloud replied before Tifa had a chance to respond.

Everyone in the room was shocked to hear the news with the exception of the Turks who already knew of Tifa's pregnancy after Reno overheard their conversation in Healen.

"Congratulations Spikey," Barret said slapping Cloud on the back. All their friends were surprised but happy for them. However, given the circumstances they would have to do the celebrating later.

"Hate the interrupt the tender moment folks but we're about two minutes away from Edge," Cid informed the group.

"So what's the plan?" Yuffie asked Reeve.

Reeve paused for a moment thinking.

"We'll drop Cloud and Tifa off on the rooftop. The rest of us will split into two teams and target the assailants terrorizing the city," he directed.

"Hey, check this out," Cid told everyone.

They all directed their attention from Reeve to the bridge window. By now they were in view of Edge and the first thing they could see was a large Robot standing around 60 feet tall, taller than some of the buildings in the city. It looked a lot like the Proud Clod with a similar build and was a red color with black trim. It was standing next to the WRO headquarters as if guarding it. The machine was shooting random missile like projectiles at nearby structures. A few buildings were engulfed in flames while some were destroyed completely.

Cid circled the robot keeping a safe distance trying to get a view of what was going on below. In the streets they could see peacekeepers shooting at citizens who were trying to flee. Most of the chaos was occurring within a few block radius of the headquarters.

Spotting the airship the robot shot a missile towards them which Cid managed to avoid.

"Let's roll!" Barret said to everyone as they all prepared themselves for the impending battle.

* * *

When Yuffie, Barret, Vincent, and Nanakin touched ground a few blocks away from the Headquarters they found the streets overrun with people trying to flee. They were not far from the 7th Heaven and although Yuffie had a gun she knew she could fine her conformer there full of materia. It also had a much needed change of clothing. She told the others where she was going and that she would be right back. Nanakin decided to go with her for support while Barret and Vincent headed in the direction of the Headquarters.

As Yuffie and Nanakin made their way through the war-torn streets Yuffie was shocked by all the carnage and destruction. Nearby buildings were destroyed and they came across the occasional dead body. They only good thing was that most of the destruction was confined to the business district although there were a few residences in the area. It was obvious that the attackers had already made their way through this area so the two kept an eye out for enemies as they headed towards the bar.

When they reached the 7th Heaven Yuffie made her way upstairs while Nankin stayed by the entrance guarding it. Yuffie felt energized once she changed into her regular clothes and retrieved her weapon and materia. When she went downstairs she gave a few orbs to Nanakin and they exited.

Although it was nighttime the streetlamps were bright and lit up the main roads. As they made their way back towards the headquarters they were slowed down trying to run against all the people fleeing. As Yuffie ran past an alleyway she stopped in her tracks when something caught her eye. Seeing that Yuffie was no longer running next to him Nanakin stopped and ran back to her.

Between the two buildings Yuffie could see three peacekeepers with their backs to her corning a group of six people, two of them children. The attackers had their guns raised ready to fire. Immediately Yuffie used her barrier materia to create a barrier between the attackers and the citizens. The bullets stopped at the shield preventing the citizens from being harmed. Instantaneously Nankin used a fire materia to engulf the attackers in flames falling to the ground dead. As soon as the flames cleared the citizens took the opportunity to escape while the two continued on towards the Headquarters.

* * *

Once Kateria, Alex and James left the basement they made their way to the ground floor to meet up with the chief of security and his team. Their job was to guard the rooftop and they waited for the head of security to escort them to the roof.

The chief was talking to someone on his radio before he addressed the group.

"I just received word from ground patrol that an airship has entered the city's airspace," he informed the group. Then security chief directed the three and a team of five Renegades towards the elevator.

Once inside the elevator he swiped his card to access the top floor. As they all stood in the crowded elevator Katerina had a nagging feeling she couldn't ignore. Miles was acting strange in that basement and she wanted to find out why. When they reached the rooftop Katerina and her two comrades were surprised to see the city under attack.

"This isn't right," Katerina heard Alex say as if reading her thoughts. They had all seen their share of destruction before but they knew this was not what Genesis had planned.

"Something's wrong," Katerina said to Alex then walked up to the chief. "Give me your keycard," she demanded.

"No, I'm under direct orders not to hand the card over to anyone," the man informed her.

"Well that's too bad," Katerina sad to the man sarcastically grinning. "James sweetie," she said calling out to her friend.

James took a few steps towards the man and before he had a chance to react James swiped his gun with one hand and grabbed his shirt collar with the other. Using the collar of his shirt James lifted the man up off the ground so his feet were dangling in the air.

Seeing their senior officer in trouble the renegades pointed their firearms at the three. Alex drew his sword raising it in defense.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Alex asked the group of soldiers smirking evilly. They looked at each other worried and unsure of themselves.

"Now, now, we're all on the same side here," Katerina told the man still hanging in the air. "I just need to borrow your keycard to find our friend, YOUR superior."

Wanting to get away from the big man as soon as possible the chief put his hand in his pocket and pull out his keycard handing it to Katerina. She knew they needed the keycard to access the top floors and she had a feeling that's where they'll find Genesis.

"Now tell me where Genesis is?" Katerina asked him.

"I don't know," the man said nervously looking down at her.

She sighed shaking her head a little then glared at him.

"I know you got someone monitoring all those security cameras," she said sounding impatient. "Radio and ask them to check the cameras to find out," she directed him.

The man reached onto his belt, unclipped his radio and started to talk into it. After a minute a voice on the radio said Genesis was last seen walking into an office on the 37th floor.

"See it wasn't that hard," Katerina informed him. She nodded to James who threw the man into the group of Renegades like he was a piece of trash knocking three of them down. "Let's go," Katerina said as the three made their way back into the building.

* * *

Genesis struggled to move at first but after mustering all his strength he finally forced himself to rise. He was furious at Miles but it was going to take a lot more than poison to defeat him. This was not his first time cheating death and it probably wouldn't be his last. He knew his chosen path was not going to be an easy one but he was confident he could overcome any obstacle thrown his way.

He was equally mad at Weiss for plotting against him. Miles he could understand but not his brother.

As the winged man pushed himself up off the broken glass under him his face had multiple cuts from falling into the table.

As he looked around the room the first thing he noticed was the devastation going on outside. Gazing out into the city he could see the people trying to flee the destruction. Seeing his fellow Deepground members attack a city full of innocent people caused a wave of rage to rush over him.

Hell bent on revenge he reached into his pocket trying to find the keycard but it was gone. Miles must have lifted it from him and he was sure he knew where the scientist would be. He needed to find a way to the top floor.

Looking around the room he noticed the desk chair with the dead man still sitting in it. He walked over and pushed the body off picking up the chair and throwing it through the window breaking it. He was still a little weak from the poison but the cool night air helped. Standing by the broken window he took a few seconds to make sure he had enough strength to fly.

"My friend, the fates are cruel; There are no dreams, no honor remains; The arrow has left the bow of the goddess…" He said calmly while looking over the city then jumped out through the opening disappearing into the night's sky.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Sunday part. 2

When the three reached the 37th floor they located the office Genesis was last seen entering. Inside they were surprised to see the broken coffee table and the smashed out window. It was obvious there was a struggle.

Alex walked over by the desk and inspected the broken window. He looked down at the dead body lying next to the desk. He was relieved to see it wasn't Genesis.

"We got a dead guy over here but no sign of Genesis," Alex informed the others. He looked out the window but it was dark outside and they were too far up to see if Genesis had fallen to his death.

James walked over to the liquor cabinet while Katerina inspected the scene by the shattered table. There were two empty drinking glassing sitting next to her and little drops of blood all over the broken glass. She didn't like the looks of this. She knew Miles was not strong enough to overpower Genesis by force so he must have used something to catch him off-guard. James was just about to take a swig from a bottle of whiskey when she looked over at him.

"James stop," she directed him right before the bottle was about to touch his lips. "It could be poisoned," she informed him.

Looking a little disappointed James closed the bottle and put it back in the cabinet.

"So now what?" Alex asked his friends.

"Let's go get some answers," Katerina said and the three exited the room towards the top floor.

* * *

By the time Nanakin and Yuffie reached Barret and Vincent they seemed to have the situation under control. They were a little over a block away from the headquarters and the surrounding area appeared to have been evacuated leaving only them and the attackers. Upon seeing her friend Yuffie threw Barret an Ice materia.

As soon as the man equipped the orb a group of six peacekeepers turned the corner and charged them. Instead of firing their weapons as expected one of the attackers stopped to cast a lightening spell on Nanakin but he managed to jump just before the bolt hit him. Vincent fired his weapon at the attacker killing him instantly.

Another peacekeeper cast as fire spell on Yuffie but it did no damage thanks to the magic barrier she cast on herself earlier. Yuffie threw her weapon at the man knocking him down. It didn't take them long to defeat the attackers then they ran up to each other to regroup.

"This is easier than expected," Yuffie commented to her friends. Having the materia was a big help considering it's been years since she used some in battle.

"*&amp;%#K girl don't say that!" Barret warned her.

"Why not?" Yuffie asked puzzled.

"Because when you say something like that things go wrong," Nanakin commented. He was not the superstitious type but years of experience has taught him when you talk like that sometime bad always happens.

Yuffie scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. The headquarters is only a block away," she told the others. "I wonder if Cid has taken out the weapon yet?" she asked changing the subject. The buildings around them were too tall so they couldn't view the headquarters or the robot from their position.

Before anyone had a chance to answer Vincent irrupted.

"We're almost there," he informed them. "Let's go"

They all followed Vincent down the street and towards the Headquarters. When they turned the corner they came face to face with over three dozen soldiers guarding the front entrance and the giant robot standing behind them. Spotting them all the Renegades raised their weapons ready to attack.

"I'm sorry guys," Yuffie apologized sheepishly while they prepared for battle.

* * *

After dropping off Barret and the others it took some time before Cid was able to get close enough to let off Cloud and Tifa.

Once the two landed it didn't take long for them to defeat the six men guarding the rooftop entrance. They were both expecting it to be more heavily occupied. Realizing she was missing something Tifa looked at Cloud.

"We need a keycard to reach the top floors," she informed him. She had a feeling whoever was behind this would be hiding out on the top floor. She regretted giving Reeve's keycard to Genesis.

Cloud reached into his pocket and pull out Collin's keycard. Tifa smiled at him and they entered the stairwell. They figured it was best to follow her hunch and start with the top floor. They were just about to reach the first landing when Cloud head footsteps approaching them from below. He pulled out his sword and ran down the stairs to get a jump on whoever was approaching. As soon as he turned the corner a sword came crashing towards him but he blocked it just in time.

"Stop!" Tifa said as soon she realized who it was. Listening to her Cloud and Alex lowered their swords. Tifa ran ahead of Cloud to talk to them.

"What's going on?" she questioned the three.

"We think Miles did something to Genesis," Alex informed her. "We can't find him anywhere."

"Where's Chloe?" Tifa asked them.

"Last time I saw her she was with Miles," Katerina informed her.

"Where is he?" Cloud inquired eager to confront Miles.

"We think he is on the top floor," Katerina told him. "We were just about to go up and ask him about Genesis."

"That weapon is outside wreaking havoc on the city," Tifa told the group. "Genesis would not have wanted this," she added. She was hoping by telling them this they would agree to help the others defend the city.

Katerina looked at her two comrades.

"So what are we doing boys?" she asked them.

"Let's go kick some weapon ass," Alex said eager to get his fight on. Although he wanted to hurt Miles he knew there would be more challenging opponents outside. James and Katerina nodded in agreement.

"Leave Miles to us," Tifa told them and the two groups parted ways.

* * *

Cid circled the Robot trying to get within range but the multitude of missiles and gunfire bombarding him was making it rather difficult. After a few minutes of some skilled flying Cid finally had a chance to fire one of his cannons hitting the target. Unfortunately the attack did no damage and the machine appeared unscathed.

"What the hell is this thing made of?" Cid commented to the small group standing in front of him on the bridge. Besides his crew Reeve and the four Turks were the only ones left on the airship. "So?" he asked looking down at them from steering platform. "How F^&amp;k do I take this thing down?!"

"What makes you think we know?" Reno asked looking up at the captain like he was crazy.

"It's a Shinra F^&amp;%ing robot ain't it?" Cid said giving the Turks a frustrated look.

"It's not like we built the damn thing!" Reno stressed. "Do we look like engineers to you?!"

"Your robots always have some kind of weak spot," the captain explained turning the steering wheel forcefully dodging another attack from the enemy. "So what is it?"

"I donno," Reno shrugged. "Electricity?" he guessed. It was mechanical after all.

Up to this point everyone was silently listening to Cid and Reno bicker while watching the scene out the window.

"Maybe it has a vulnerability you need to exploit in order to weaken it," Rude suggested.

Although Tseng had known about the weapon and had studied designs during its initial stages this was his first time seeing it in person. All he knew about the robot was that it was one of the last and most advanced weapons Shinra had built before the company fell. It was still in the prototype phase but it had the latest in weapons, hydraulics, artificial intelligence, and defense. It had an almost impenetrable exoskeleton and there was no element or weapon he could think of that could penetrate its armor. Then as the aircraft turned towards the weapon Tseng noticed a black metal box on the robot's chest. Rude's suggestion had reminded him of something he recalled seeing on the weapon's schematics.

"You see that black armored box on its chest?" Tseng pointed out to the group as soon as the Robot was within view. Although it was hard to focus on due to the airship's constant maneuvering they were all able to see what Tseng was referring to. "It powers the weapon's shield that protects the exoskeleton from physical and elemental damage. If we can take it out it will leave the weapon vulnerable."

"How the hell do we take out the box if our weapons won't work against it?" Cid asked.

"The exoskeleton protects it from all elemental and physical damage. We need to manually disable the power source," Tseng informed him.

"You want one of us to jump down on that thing?!" Reno asked worried. The redhead looked around to see Rude, Elena and Tseng looking at him seriously. "Oh no," he informed his fellow Turks putting his hands up, "I'm not volunteering for this one."

"You won't have to," Reeve said and they all turned to look at him. "I know someone who can help us." Less than a minute later Cait Sith came walking onto the bridge.

"Cait Sith number six at your service," the little feline told the group excitingly.

"Cait Sith we need your help with something," Reeve told his mechanical companion motioning to the Weapon outside.

The cat looked at the robot outside and jumped fearfully.

"Hey wait now, I'm no good at fighting…" the mechanical cat informed the group waiving his hands nervously while backing up.

"No, we have a mission that can use your stealth," Reeve corrected the toy.

"Oh, well in that case, what can I do for you blokes?" it said changing his tune.

"We need you to slip onto the robot and deactivate its shield," Reeve explained.

"And how do I deactivate it?" the cat asked its master.

"Use this," Cid said throwing the cat a stick of dynamite.

"Cid, how is dynamite supposed to work if your cannons couldn't even make a dent earlier?" Elena asked the captain.

Cait Sith stood there holding the stick of TNT scratching its head.

"Actually it might work," Tseng corrected his partner. "The outside is resistant to damage but inside might be vulnerable. If he can find an opening behind the shield the explosion from the dynamite should damage it."

"That's what I was thinking," Cid said as he light a cigarette then threw his lighter at the toy cat. "That's my lucky lighter Cait. Don't lose it," he warned.

"Thanks Cid…" Cait Sith said looking down holding the TNT in one hand and the lighter in the other. This mission was starting to make him nervous.

Now it was Cid's job to help Cait Sith reach the weapon. He knew it was going to take a lot of skilled flying to avoid the weapon's attacks while trying to get close enough.

"Hold on to your drawers!" the pilot warned the others grinning. "It's going to be a bumpy ride!"


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – Sunday Part. 3

When Tifa and Cloud entered Reeve's office they were surprised to see Miles sitting behind the desk waiting for them. The office was dark with just the faint city lights lighting the room through the big window. Despite the darkness Tifa could tell something was wrong with Miles. Not only did he look weary and worn there was something about the expression on his face that worried her. He was slumped down in the chair holding his side.

Upon seeing Tifa's face Miles forced a faint smile.

"Glad to see you're okay Tifa," he told her.

"Where's Chloe?" Tifa demanded. Although she would love to confront him right now her first priority was finding her daughter.

"I don't know…" Miles said softly. He was ashamed and embarrassed for letting himself be played so easily.

"What did you do to her?" Cloud growled growing impatient. He was just as eager to find his child and he didn't have time for these games.

Miles scowled at Cloud.

"I would never hurt her!" Miles tried to shout but he was in too much pain. He closed his eyes for a second as a wave of pain rushed over him then he looked at Tifa. "I tried to stop him but he overpowered me," Miles informed her as he removed his hand to reveal a large wound with the side of his shirt and coat stained with blood.

"Who took her?" Tifa asked him worried.

"Weiss but it's really Hojo," Miles informed her.

A wave of fear rushed through Cloud. He had heard from Vincent about Weiss being possessed by Hojo but he thought the scientist was defeated years ago. Sensing Cloud's worry Tifa looked at him.

"Who's Hojo?" She asked. She thought she might have head Genesis mention the name in passing when talking about Weiss going crazy but he never went into detail.

"An evil man," he informed her. "She's in a lot of danger."

"What could he want with her?" Tifa asked looking between Miles and Cloud.

"I can think of a few things," Cloud commented. After what Hojo did to him he didn't even want to think about what he would do to his daughter. Cloud turned to Tifa. "We need to find her as soon as possible." He was about to leave when Tifa stopped him.

"Wait," she told Cloud causing him to look back at her. "We can't leave him like this," she said motioning to Miles sitting in the chair holding his wound. Even in the dim light she could see the dark stain on his white shirt had grown.

"You're serious?" Cloud asked giving Tifa a bemused look. Cloud felt Miles deserved everything that came to him and the last thing he wanted to do was help the scientist.

"He might be able to help us," Tifa suggested. Although she would never forgive him for lying to her she didn't want to see him suffer like this. Plus he was the last one to see Chloe.

Cloud sighed, she made a good argument. He walked over closer to him to use his cure materia.

"Thank you Tifa," Miles said to her smiling. "I knew the last few months must have meant something to you too," he commented then glanced over at Cloud with an evil smile on his face.

Seeing the look of satisfaction on Miles' face Cloud glared at him but healed him anyways.

"Don't push your luck Miles," Tifa said scolding the man. "I'm still pissed you lied to me and after we get Chloe back I never want to see you again."

By now the cure spelled had passed over him and with his wound mostly healed Miles was feeling better. Seeing the look on Tifa's face Miles' grin disappeared. She looked like she was going to hurt him.

"I think I might know where they are," Miles informed Tifa trying to make amends.

Miles was about to walk around the desk towards them when suddenly the window shattered and Genesis came flying towards the scientist with his sword raised. Grabbing hold of his lab coat Genesis pinned Miles' back on the desk forcing him down. Leaning on him with his sword to Miles' throat Genesis glared at him.

A look of horror appeared on Miles' face as Genesis pressed the sword a little deeper against his throat. He wanted to speak but the sword was so tight he was afraid it would cut him if he tried to talk.

"Genesis, what's wrong?" Tifa asked her friend. Cloud was standing next to her with his sword raised as a precaution.

"He tried to poison me," the winged man said through clenched teeth while still staring Miles down.

Tifa was shocked to hear this. She frowned at Miles who was looking over at her as if begging for her help.

"Any last words?" Genesis asked releasing the sword a little so the man could talk.

"It was Weiss' idea," Miles explained franticly. "He's possessed by Hojo."

Genesis looked over at Tifa to confirm this accusation.

"He has Chloe," Tifa informed him with a worried expression.

"That's still no excuse for betraying me," Genesis said looking down at Miles while pressing the sword back against his throat.

"Please Genesis," Tifa said putting her hand on his arm stopping him. "He's the only one who knows where to find Chloe."

Genesis looked over at her as she was looking at him with her big brown eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her; she had a way with people he couldn't explain. Genesis looked down giving Miles one last threatening glare then released the sword from his neck.

Breathing a sigh of relief Miles put his hand around his neck checking it for blood before pushing himself off the desk.

"This is not over," Genesis warned Miles. "Once we find Weiss and Chloe we will finish this."

Cloud couldn't help but grin while the scene between Genesis and Miles unfolded. Watching Miles panic and the terrified look on his face gave Cloud a great deal of satisfaction.

"So where are they?" Tifa asked Miles eager to find her daughter.

Miles stopped to think.

"Weiss, err Hojo was asking about my old laboratory. But he took all my keycards." Miles informed them.

"We have one," Tifa informed him and they all exited the office towards the elevator.

* * *

The Battle on the ground was starting to look grim. Not only did the army outnumber them they were also equipped with very powerful weapons and materia. Not to mention the giant robot. At least Cid was doing a good job distracting the robot so that was one less thing they had to worry about.

Yuffie looked around at her teammates. Barret and Nanakin appeared battered and exhausted. Even Vincent looked a little weary in his chaos form which she had never seen before so she knew it was not looking good for them. Yuffie herself was having difficulty conjuring the strength needed to use her materia. She recast magic barrier just before a renegade cast an ice spell on Nanakin preventing more damage.

"Please," Yuffie said out loud to her ancestral deities. "If you help us out I'll never say anything to jinx us again. I promise." She stopped to throw her conformer at an attacker the continued her prayer. "And I promise to visit the temple every year." She added.

Suddenly two attackers managed to dodge Nanakin's fire spell and rushed Yuffie. They raised their guns to fire but before they could pull the trigger James came crashing down on top of them with his big sword.

Thinking he was the enemy Barret aimed his arm at the big man ready to fire but James and Katerina came running up towards him.

"Don't shoot," Alex stopped him.

"We're here to help. Tifa sent us," Katerina added as she attacked a renegade armed with a sword.

"Can't you order them to stop?" Barret asked lowering his gun arm away from James.

Alex laughed.

"They don't know who we are," he said as he sliced the man across the chest. Being trapped for over five years in a Deepground hideout the only people who knew of their existence were seasoned members like Genesis.

With the extra help the battle was starting to turn in their favor. They were more than half way through the group when Alex, who was closest to the robot, heard the Shera fly overhead. When he looked up he was sure he saw something small fall out of the airship landing on the machine.

"What is it?" Katerina asked noticing Alex gazing upwards.

"I thought I just saw a cat fly out of that airship," he said looking over at her bewildered.

"Do you get hit over the head?" Katerina asked looking at him like he was crazy.

They continued fighting and the number of remaining enemies were starting to decline. Then a loud explosion could be heard above them. They all looked up to see that a large box-shaped piece of metal had been blown off the robot and came crashing down towards them followed by some debris and Cait Sith who landed on his feet.

"See I'm not crazy," Alex told Katerina just as he dodged a large section of falling metal.

"What is that thing?" Katerina asked wondering if it was friend or foe.

"That's Cait Sith. He's with us." Yuffie yelled over to Katerina after catching her conformer.

"Cait Sith number 6 at your service," the mechanical cat introduced himself giving a little bow.

As they finished off the last group of enemies Alex stopped what he was doing when he noticed the Shera fire a weapon at the Robot hitting it. Then Alex looked and noticed that the airship was starting to arm all its weapons. After experiencing it once he would never forget that sound again. Knowing what was coming next Alex alerted the others.

"Guys!" he called out to his friends. "The airship's doing that thing again," he warned them.

* * *

5 minutes earlier

After Cait Sith exited the airship Reeve, Cid and the Turks watched as he scurried down the robot and onto the big box on its chest. Using Cid's lighter he lit the stick of dynamite stuffing it into a small opening between the box and the robot then hurried back up towards the Robot's shoulder area.

When the TNT detonated the blast caused the box to fly off the robot onto the ground below. The tremor from the blast also caused Cait Sith to lose his balance and fall.

The distraction allowed Cid a chance to fire a weapon at the robot to see if the shield had been destroyed. The projectiles hit and after the smoked cleared they could see the robot was slightly damaged.

"Cid, I think it's time to bring out the big guns," Reno informed the captain who smile in response knowing exactly what the redhead was referring to.

Cid looked down at a crew member manning the controls to the right of him.

"Ready the weapons," he called out.

The crew member franticly started to press buttons arming all the weapons on the airship. After a few seconds the crew member turned to look at his captain.

"Armed and ready sir," the man informed him.

Cid reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette. Everyone was standing watching the pilot as he franticly felt all his pockets for a lighter. Realizing he didn't have one he looked down at the group below.

"Little help?" he asked them.

Reno reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a lighter throwing it up at Cid. The captain lit his cigarette taking a drag then let out a smoke filled sigh of relief.

"Fire!" he ordered his crew member who launched all the weapons.

Instantly all the airships weapons discharged at once bombarding the robot in an explosion of fire. After what felt like minutes the projectiles ceased firing and the smoke cleared. Most of the robot's exoskeleton was either destroyed or in pieces surrounding it. No longer unable to stand the defeated machine fell crashing into the WRO building behind it. The force of the impact caused the building to shake rapidly and destroyed the bottom five floors it toppled onto.

"I can never get tired of watching that," Reno commented to Rude as he watched the Shera's weapons take out the robot.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 – Sunday part. 4

Hojo walked into the laboratory holding Chloe who was now awake. She was a little startled at first but recognizing Weiss she quickly calmed down.

As Hojo surveyed the room he was not impressed. Miles was right; this was a sorry excuse for a laboratory. It was a large room with the back wall covered in shelving full of mineral samples. To the far left side of the room was an empty mako chamber and work station covered in various sized test tubes, vials and beakers. On the right side of the room was a SND machine consisting of a big metal chair connected to a helmet hanging above it. Next to it was a chair and computer desk with a desktop computer on top surrounded by papers and random clutter.

Hojo shut the door behind him and put the child down while he got to work. He walked over to the SND device and turned it on to allow time for it to power up. Then he walked over to the computer and sat down at the desk while he programed the device logging onto the World Wide Network.

If everything goes according to plan he should be able to locate Jenova's consciousness on the WWN and finally give it a vessel worthy of its power. The child was the perfect choice since it was a carbon copy of project S and was the only thing that could come close to his Sephiroth. By his calculations this child would be almost full grown in a little over a year allowing Jenova enough time to grow accustomed to its new body. Once strong enough it will be free and can use its knowledge to finally complete the task it started when it crashed into this planet thousands of years ago.

It didn't bother him that his plan would mean the destruction of the planet and all life on it. Being a scientist it was more important for him to see his experiment or theory to the very end. As with his Omega theory and Project S the destruction of the world was a small price to pay. In this case Jenova's triumph would be his living legacy and as he always said once a scientist always a scientist.

As soon as Hojo logged onto the WWN he looked over at the girl who was playing with some rocks in the far back corner of the room. He walked over and picked her up carrying her to the SND device. He sat her down but she didn't sit for long and struggled to get up wanting to go play some more. While holding the girl down with one hand Hojo looked around for something to use to restrain her. Seeing some wiring on the computer desk nearby he reached over grabbing the wire then used it to tie her arms to the chair so she couldn't escape. Chloe started to cry loudly while struggling to break free.

"Shut up!" Hojo shouted at the girl growing impatient.

He took the helmet and placed it over her head. Being a child the helmet was loose and covered all her face except her mouth and chin. With the helmet on Chloe started shaking her head and squirmed trying to get it off but no luck. After some time of thrashing and fighting she realized she was trapped and finally gave up struggling but continued to cry and whimper.

As soon as the device was ready Hojo walked over and activated the switch turning it on.

* * *

When Tifa and the others entered the 37th floor hallway the first thing she could hear was her daughter crying. Hearing Chloe in distress a wave of rage and adrenaline rushed over her. She sprinted towards the laboratory entrance and burst through the door. Inside she found her daughter strapped to a chair with a helmet covering her head and face. Standing next to her daughter was Weiss.

Upon seeing Tifa he unsheathed his katanas. Tifa raised her fists just as Cloud and Genesis came up from behind her with their swords raised. Miles stayed behind the two keeping his distance.

When Cloud looked around the room he was surprised to see his daughter was so big. He was expecting to see a five month old baby, not a young child. It angered him seeing his daughter restrained in the chair hooked up to the machine.

"You're too late," Hojo said aiming one of his gun blades at the group.

Without saying a word Cloud and Genesis rushed Hojo with their swords raised. Just when they were about to reach Hojo he avoided their attacks with lightning fast speed. Hojo was so fast they couldn't even focus on him when he moved. They stopped in their tracks looking around but before they realized what happened Hojo was standing next to them with his gun blades aimed at each of their heads. He fired at the two but Genesis and Cloud jumped back dodging the bullets.

"Fools," the scientist said with an evil grin. "You two are no match for me," he warned them.

Although Omega returned to the planet after it was defeated by Chaos a little part of it still remained within him just like a piece of Chaos remained within Vincent. Now it was time to show them his real power. Suddenly a burst light came from Weiss' direction causing everyone to take a step back shielding their eyes.

When the light was gone they looked to see that he had transformed into a seven foot tall white and metallic looking monster with wings coming out of its back. Like Vincent in his Chaos form he looked like a mix between Weiss and Omega. He had three big metal spikes covering the top of his head and eyes. His long white spiky hair extended down his back. His wings looked like a mix of metal and feathers with the outer structure of the wing made of metal and the rest of the wing covered in big white feathers. His shoulders, chest, torso and legs were now covered in metal armor. He was still holding his gun blades which had grown larger, longer and were infused with a neon blue glow.

Cloud and Genesis looked at one another then without skipping a beat charged at the Weiss-Omega hybrid. This time the monster effortlessly blocked their attacks simultaneously with his swords. He then forcefully countered their attack sending them flying backwards towards the back of the room but landing on their feet. They immediately charged him again.

While the three were fighting Tifa ran over to Chloe to take off the helmet.

"No wait," Miles said just before Tifa touched the device. He ran up next to her. "Her consciousness is still connected to the network. You need to shut it down first." Miles walked over to the computer and started to type on the keyboard.

While Miles was typing Tifa looked back to check on Cloud and Genesis. They were not doing very well because as soon as she turned she noticed the two being thrown across the room crashing into the shelves full of mineral samples.

Suddenly out of nowhere the monster appeared behind Miles driving one of his katanas into his back. The tip of his sword hit the blood splatted computer screen cracking it.

"I'm not going to let you ruin my plan that easily," Hojo said to Miles as he pushed the sword deeper into his torso. Miles let out a cry of pain falling onto his knees as the monster pulled the gun blade out of his body.

The creature grinned evilly at Tifa as she tried to punch him but he easily dodged her attack. He tried to counter by striking her with his sword but she jumped backwards before he could get a clean hit in. He did manage to graze her arm causing long deep cut across her bicep. Tifa was now standing a few feet in front of him holding her upper right arm.

By now Cloud and Genesis were rising from the wreckage on the other side of the room. Seeing Tifa standing in front of the monster with his gun blade pointed at her Cloud grabbed his sword ready to fight.

Before Tifa could react the monster fired at her aiming for her chest. She tried to dodge the bullet but she wasn't fast enough and it hit her left shoulder. She let out a cry of pain grabbing her gunshot wound.

Hojo was growing frustrated. No matter how much he tried this girl just won't die and he was determined to get her out of the picture. Angry his shot missed he raised his sword again trying for a kill shot.

Seeing Tifa injured and in danger a wave a rage rushed over Cloud. Infuriated he griped his sword tight and ran over to save her before it was too late. Before Hojo could react Cloud rushed him with a series of fifteen powerful strikes at lighting fast speed. They were too fast for even the monster to react and he just stood there paralyzed as he was bombarded by Cloud's omnislash attack.

Once the attack was over the monster dropped his swords and fell to his knees transforming back to Weiss then collapsed to the ground. He was alive but unconsciousness.

Seeing he was no longer a threat Cloud looked over at Tifa who was holding her gunshot wound bleeding. He used his cure materia to heal her.

"Chloe!" Tifa said looking over at her daughter. Realizing Weiss was no longer a threat she immediately ran over to her.

Chloe was crying and whimpering the whole time but hearing her mother's voice she started to cry harder and began struggling to free herself. The child's wrists looked sore from fighting the restraints which infuriated Tifa. She wanted nothing more than to rip the helmet off of Chloe but the machine was still on and heeding Miles' warning earlier she hesitated not sure what to do.

"That's okay sweetie. Mommy's here," Tifa said trying to calm the girl down so she wouldn't struggle. "We'll get you out."

Tifa looked down at Miles who was wounded lying on the floor then she looked over at the computer. By now Genesis was standing near Cloud. Tifa turned to ask them if they knew how to turn off the device but before she could say anything the building started to shake violently. It felt like an earthquake but it only lasted a few seconds. She heard what sounded like an explosion outside then suddenly the whole room moved and the lights around them went dark. With the power gone the emergency lights activated illuminating the exit. It felt like the room had shifted a little and most of the laboratory equipment was in disarray.

With the power off Tifa ran over to her daughter and lifted off her helmet before untying her restraints. As soon as she was free Chloe jumped into Tifa's arms giving her mother a big hug while still crying.

Cloud watched as the two embraced. He was amazed at how much Chloe looked like Tifa. After a few seconds the girl was starting to calm down except for the odd sob. Noticing Cloud the girl looked over at him and he could see her big blue mako eyes watching him. Cloud smiled at the girl as she studied him and after a few seconds the girl smiled a little back.

Tifa was still holding Chloe when she heard Miles cough. She looked over to see him still lying on the floor with the broken computer next to him and the desk on top of his legs. She looked at Cloud who knew what she was thinking. He handed her his cure materia as she handed him their daughter.

She went over to Miles and lifted the computer desk off his legs. A pool of blood had formed around him and even in the dim light she could tell he was pale and not looking good. She tried to use the cure materia but it didn't work.

Noticing Tifa kneeling next to him Miles looked up at her.

"Is she okay?" Miles asked her. He was struggling to breath and looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"Yes," Tifa informed him. Despite everything he had done to her in the past she didn't want to see him die. They did have a few good memories together.

"I'm sorry Tifa," Miles said then he closed his eyes as a wave of pain rushed over him. "I hope you forgive –"

"Don't talk like that," Tifa said cutting him off as her eyes started to tear up. She tried to use the cure materia again but it was too late and his injuries were too severe. She stayed by his side as the life left his eyes and he was gone.

Closing his eyes Tifa took as few seconds to say goodbye then stood up and walked over to Cloud and Chloe who were both watching her with serious expressions.

Genesis was standing a few feet behind them and Tifa could see him looking around. That's when she also noticed that something was missing.

"Weiss is gone," the winged man informed them.

Cloud turned around to look at the spot where Weiss collapsed then he turned to Genesis.

"He must have escaped when the building started to shake," Cloud suggested.

"I wonder what he was trying to do with Chloe," Tifa said walking over to her daughter and brushing the hair out of her eyes. Surprisingly Chloe seemed content with Cloud holding her considering this was their first time meeting.

None of them knew what Hojo was trying to accomplish but they all agreed whatever it was had sinister intentions.

When they exited the laboratory they were surprised to see most of the windows shattered and the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Still holding his daughter Cloud walked over to the window and looked down to see that the Robot was destroyed and its remains had collided with the building. Given the destruction below they decided to use the stairwell located on the opposite side of the headquarters.

When they exited the building the sun was just starting to rise over the city. They immediately found their friends near the entrance and they all looked exhausted. Seeing Cloud and Tifa exit Yuffie looked relieved.

"We were just about to go searching for you two," Yuffie said running ahead of the others to greet her two friends. "Glad to see you are okay." Noticing the child in Cloud's arms Yuffie smiled at the girl. "Is this Chloe?" she asked surprised to see the girl was so big.

Cloud nodded yes.

"She's adorable," Yuffie said fawning over the girl. "I'm aunty Yuffie," she said to Chloe leaning over to face the girl. Chloe just looked at her blankly not sure what to think.

A moment later Barret, Vincent, Alex, Katerina and James walked up to them.

"What the hell happened to ya?" Alex asked the winged man who was standing next to Tifa. "We were worried Miles did something."

"He tried," Genesis informed them.

"What happened to him and Weiss?" James asked looking around.

"Miles is dead and Weiss I'll explain later," Genesis said to the three. He really didn't feel like going into details at the moment.

"What are you going to do now?" Tifa asked Genesis. Now that she found out the truth about her past she knew her home was here in Edge with Cloud. Although part of her was going to miss the little house near Mideel.

"I going to call off the raid on the Junon headquarters and warned them about Weiss. Then I'm going to hunt him down and try to rid him of his curse." Genesis explained.

Genesis accomplished his goal of destroying the WRO but he was angry that Miles and Hojo's betrayal caused so much innocent bloodshed. Pulling his remaining deepground members out of Junon would prevent more unnecessary casualties and he feared Hojo's first stop would be Junon to get to them before him. He knew he had to hurry and did not want to waste any time.

"I'll meet you in Junon," Genesis told his three associates. He looked over at Tifa and nodded to her then took off into the air.

Knowing they had a long road ahead of them Katerina said bye to the girl and Tifa then the three started walking. As they were walking away James looked over at his friends.

"We're not walking all the way to Junon are we?" he asked them. He was already tired and Junon far. "We're getting another airship, right?"

"Shut up!" Alex said quietly as he looked behind him then turned back to James. "They can still hear you!" he stressed to his friend as they continued walking towards the city's outskirts.

Meanwhile the others called Cid to get an update on the situation. After talking to Cid they agreed to go meet him and the others in the airfield but Tifa wanted to tend to her daughter first.

"Chloe's probably hungry. I should get her something to eat," Tifa informed Cloud. Although he wanted to help the others her daughter was her first priority.

"I'm hungry too," Yuffie said to Tifa. "I know where there's a 24-hour store on the other side of town. Want me to show you?" The 7th Heaven had been abandoned for months now and was completely empty of food so there was no point going there without stopping by a store first.

Tifa nodded yes and took Chloe from Cloud. Then the three girls made their way towards the shop leaving the three men. When they were almost out of sight Yuffie stopped walking about looked back at the other.

"Meet us at the bar later for some breakfast!" Yuffie called out to the men before turning and catching up to Tifa who was walking with Chloe. She figured she was not the only one who was hungry so they might as well make breakfast for everyone.

Knowing they still had a long day ahead of them Barret, Vincent and Cloud took a short break before making their way to meet Cid and the others in the airfield.

* * *

Epilogue

It was a month later and Tifa was starting to feel settled. Being in her real home she couldn't believe how many people she knew and how many missed her. Even before she reopened the bar new people dropped in everyday to visit and catch up. She still did not remember any of them but thankfully Cloud was there to help.

As the weeks past, interacting with her friends and being back at home caused memories to slowly return little by little but she knew it was going to take time. She realized that she might never recover all of them but it made her appreciate the memories she was lucky enough to have.

The last four weeks with Cloud and Chloe she had never felt happier. After the first week Barret brought Denzel and Marlene to the house and they were so happy to see Tifa they never let her out of their sight for the first few days. She couldn't remember them but she tried not to let it ruin their excitement.

The two children got along exceptionally well with Chloe who was getting bigger every day. This was the first time she was able to play with Children and was finally starting to talk a little. This made Tifa happy and she was also surprised that Chloe was able to keep up with children who so much older than her.

Cloud and Chloe were also making up for lost time. It was like the child knew who Cloud was because she would follow him around everywhere and tried to mimic everything he did. They had no idea what Hojo tried to do to her but they could only assume that they stopped before he could accomplish whatever he had planned.

It was a slow process but the reconstruction of Edge's business district was going smoothly. Since that day Reeve had been focusing all his time and energy on rebuilding Edge. Tifa and the others were unsure what his plans were after the reconstruction efforts were completed. When he last stopped in for a visit he did mention that he had plans for Edge to finally have a democratically elected government, like Junon, but they were unsure what his role in this would be. They figured they would find out soon enough.

Tifa had not heard from Genesis and the others since that day. As Genesis promised the remaining Deepground members pulled out of Junon and there had been no sign of them since. She couldn't help but wonder if they found Weiss and if they were able to help him. From what Cloud told her about Hojo she feared that as long as he was free to roam the planet this would not be the last they have seen of him.

Despite her concerns she was not going to let it prevent her from enjoying every moment with her friends and family. Being stripped of all her memories made her realize how precious everyone was to her and she looked forward to creating new memories. Especially with Cloud, being a positive person the one thing she kept telling herself was that the amnesia allowed her the opportunity to fall in love with him all over again and she couldn't be happier.

End…


End file.
